Unpredictable
by liarlikeme
Summary: Ask him about the craziest part of his life. He won't say: losing his parents, running into a "cold one", becoming a part of a super secret werewolf "gang", or even sharing thoughts with Paul. He'll smile warmly and simply say: Her.  OC wolf. Imprint!
1. Prologue

**(A/N)  
I wanted to do an imprint story on a pack-member that we already knew. However, I couldn't bring myself to get over this character in my head. He was a mix of the younger Jacob, and Quil. I hope that helps you envision him as I do. **

**Disclaimer:  
I own no known _Twilight_ characters. **

This is a story of a new Werewolf- Chaz Grey. He is a Quilite descendant, a cousin to Sam Uley. His father, a Quilite descendant, and his mother died in a car wreck mid-November. This new round of stress is what brought our dear friend to officially cross over to the dog side. He has just moved in next to Sam and Emily, in a house that the pack had built practically overnight. Now Sam had Chaz transferred to the school in La Push. His first day of school, November 18th, definitely did not go as planned. As if his life could get any more complicated.

**Prologue:  
**"**Her"**

Most anyone else would be utterly afraid of this situation; pressed up against a wall, face to face with me, a "giant._"_ At a whopping six foot seven and a half inches tall, I was strong enough to bench-press the weight of a house. Of course any one else would be utterly afraid; in this situation, with nowhere to go, no less. Any other girl would at least have a set expression of either fear or... Alright, I'll just say girls flirt with me a lot... A LOT. I don't like to think of myself as that kind of guy, but being practically a man-- looking like I could pass for twenty-- with the muscle of, well, a werewolf, some of those girls were probably dreaming of a situation like this. Ugh.

Yet, here I was, in this situation, with _her,_ who appeared completely unfazed by it. I sighed to myself. She's incredible.


	2. Unpredictable

****

Chapter One:

"**Unpredictable" **

**Sunday November 31**

**CPOV:**

Silently padding through the forest, I let my mind wander. I let myself muse on all of the things that I had be suppressing; trying not to dwell on. Phasing just sort of has that effect on you. Whether its all of the people who are digging around in you mind, or simply the freedom itself-- freedom to be who you truly are, what you truly are-- it seemed to force all of those things out from the corners of your mind.

I had transferred schools two weeks ago tomorrow, and walked into school late. I was practically running down the empty hallway when I turned the corner and stopped instantly. She literally knocked me off my feet. Alright, so she made my feet knock myself off of them, but none the less, I was knocked over because of... _her_. She was the most fascinating creature ever; not like anyone or anything I had ever seen- and I didn't think this solely because of the imprint, either. I knew that. It was so hard, though. Knowing that I imprinted, and not knowing a thing to do about it. It was mind boggling how mysterious as this girl was to me. It had been thirteen days now, and I still knew just about nothing about her. It was killing me.

Of course, I instantly had my schedule rearranged to be close to her. As close as possible without scaring her, that is. I was now in every class with _her_, but I kept my distance to try and remain inconspicuous. Not sure if it was working or not. But I did know that I didn't want to tell her yet. Why? I didn't know how. I didn't want to scare her, of course; this perfect creature. What if I scared her? Or what if she never wanted to see me again? What if she didn't feel the same? I couldn't do that. I simply couldn't risk that. So, instead, I gave it a little bit of time. I told myself to get to know her a little. Get to know her mannerisms, maybe a little about her personality and things like that. It would help me relate to her when I decided to tell her. But that plan had been utterly flattened by _her_...

I had been in her with every class, and lunch, and seen her in the library after school. I saw her walk home. I even patrolled around her house everyday. Just to be safe. Even when she didn't know I was there-- which seemed to be all the time-- I was. I had tried to pick up information about her, anything about her, but all she did was frustrate me! This girl was so unpredictable! One day she would do something one way, and the next it was different. Sometimes I saw her make spontaneous decisions, and other days I watched her narrow her eyebrows and get lost deep in thought planning something out. She was so random and unpredictable. This made it so unbelievably hard to figure out how I was to approach her.

It was killing me only seeing her and not being able to do anything. The werewolf instincts were being fought with- and that only meant pain. It hurt like nothing I'd ever felt. I was ripping me apart not being able to go to her, to approach her, to take her in my arms and hold her... I had to stop myself there. The pain was growing wider and wider ripping me apart over and over... over and over... One of my favorite songs popped into my head just then and blared itself full-force.

__

" Over and over, over and over  
I fall for you  
Over and over, over and over  
I try not to  
Over and over, over and over  
You make me fall for you  
Over and over, over and over  
You don't even try- "

Ugh. Not now. This pain was... overwhelming me... Just then, Sam's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"You are much stronger than I was. I could never have been able to stay away from someone I imprinted on. Don't worry. She will understand when you tell her. Imprinting has they way of effecting both involved." That made sense but what if...

"But what if it doesn't? She is like no one I have ever met... what if it _doesn't_ effect her? What would I-"

"It will all work out, Chaz. It will all work out." He really meant it, I could tell. Although, I have to admit that I was still skeptical. Then another voice came through the mental intercom in my head.

"Yes, it will all work out!" Paul. Wait? Was it Paul? It sounded like him, but was he was being... sentimental?" Now, would you just kiss her already, so you'll stop fantasizing about doing it?? Its making me sick." I should have known. Jerk. "I can hear you! Idiot." He retorted.

"That's it. I'm going to run home. Thanks for the advice." I thought, turning to Sam. "And thanks for _helping_, Paul." I thought, icily.

Like I didn't have enough pressure about telling her. Talking to her; or even approaching her. Now I'm going to have Paul's thoughts running through my head when I finally do. Great.

* * *

I pulled my shorts on, stumbling up to the house. Before I knew it, I was lying on my bed with my arm draped over my head. How had I gotten here? Did I shut the front door? Were the lights on? Did I care? The only answer I truly knew was the last one. No. I didn't care. I didn't have the strength to get back up and check. At least, I didn't think I did-- and I didn't want to push myself. Although I wasn't in bad physical shape, my emotional state was affecting all other aspects of me. At least, it felt that way.

Seeing _her_ everyday was killing me. Not seeing her itself, mind you. That was great. In fact, it was better than great. A wave of reassurance and calm washed over me each time I got even the smallest glimpse of her. It at least meant that she was safe. She was healthy. She was alive and breathing. Best of all, she was at the same school as me, in the same building, and soon enough, the same room. That itself relieved the pressure on my chest a bit, and calmed the ache over my body for a while. As soon as that feeling of contempt was over, it started up again. The pressure began pulverizing my heart, and the ache felt like it was ripping his being in two. The longing to be near her was killing me emotionally, which, in turn, was causing me physical pain.

I rolled over and looked at the clock. It was 2:09. I had been lying here dwelling on this pain for four hours?? "At least the lights were shut off." I thought. I rolled back over and put my pillow over my head. "I really need some sleep_._" I thought, yawning. Of course my brain automatically related closing my eyes with the appearance of her face. My heart skipped and I sighed, trying to make myself, forcing myself to think about something else. I let my mind wander, being careful not to think of anything but good things.

Soon, my mind had wandered me into my car, throwing my bag into the passenger seat before rushing around to the front. Before I could open the door, I heard Emily call me…

"Wait... this happened..." I thought, yawning, and the images kept flashing. "First day of school..." I thought, yawning again, as the memories clicked.


	3. One Angel, One Fall

**Chapter Two:  
****"One Angel, One Fall"**

**Monday November 18**

**CPOV:**

I had barely gotten a hand on the door handle before I heard Emily from her back porch calling me.

"Chaz! …Chaz! Don't you think you're going anywhere without saying goodbye." She warned me.

"Great_."_ I thought, "Agood-bye committee._" _I grumbled as I jogged over the path in between the left side of their back yard and the woods that led to my little house. It felt kind of like living in a pent house, I imagined, and then laughed at myself for that thought.

"Bye, Emily." I said, as I leaned over to hug her, she kissed me on the cheek.

"Have a good day at school." She said, smiling. "Don't let the bullies push you around too much," she said with a mock tone. I just smiled and jogged back to my car. I was thankful, oh so thankful, for Emily. She was really like a sister or aunt figure to me. Sometimes, she even acted like a mother. A mother I didn't get to have.

My mother and father were work-a-holics who never really had time for a kid. They worked enough, and had money enough to pay people to take care of me, so they didn't feel bad about it. They managed to switch help enough that I didn't get attached to them either. Maybe their plan was for me to never have emotional attachments. If so, they failed in the aspect of family. You would think that I would have given up on family because of them. I'm glad I never had that mindset. It's kind of weird to think about, but I never felt connected to my parents, and that was fine. However, I loved all the rest of my family to death. In fact, the only requirement that I had of someone to take care of me growing up, was the fact that they had to be willing to drive the half hour to La Push so that I could see my family, like my cousin Sam.

When they died it wasn't too traumatic for me. I was really only sad because it was human life that was taken before it was ready. Then I thought about the fact that it was my parents I was talking about. This made me mad. My parents had died and I wasn't even upset? I was more upset at myself. This made me madder. Then, that made me madder. Somewhere in the spiral of all of this anger and haste is when the first phase happened. Of course, my car was destroyed, the pain was unbearable and the confusion nearly send my mind into a stress-induced coma. However, luckily, I was close to the woods, and Sam was already phased. The minute he heard my voice, he came to my side and helped me through it. The rest is now my history.

* * *

I realized that I was shutting the engine off before I even realized that I was in the school parking lot. I shook my head furiously. _Wake up, man. First day of school. Pay attention. _I made my way to the office and got my schedule from a wrinkly lady with too much perfume and flowers on her shirt, and the infamous "granny fro." She gawked at me, probably for my size, for thirty seconds before realizing I was talking to her. _Way to go, big shot._ I thought to myself. _Way to scare innocent old ladies._ I got my schedule and a dry layout of the school before glancing at the clock on my way out.

"Ugh." I stated, under my breath. I was three minutes late. I absolutely did not want to be the center of attention. _Well, it's better to be as not-late as possible._ I thought, checking the hall for pedestrians, before starting to jog. I knew I had to go to the end of this hallway, then turn the corner and go to the middle door on the right, homeroom B5. As soon as I saw it was absolutely clear, I picked up my jog into a full-fledged run. As I came to the end of the hallway, I slowed one leg so that I could turn without having to slow down too much. I barely made it around the corner before time itself bent, putting me nowhere within the limits of time or space.

Unfortunately, the world still consisted of matter, which I found out as soon as my upper body, that kept moving when my feet stopped, hit the floor, face first. I heard the most angelic gasp in the world come from around twenty feet away. I quickly pushed myself upright and dusted myself off.

"Are you…" the most magical sound in the world flowed from her lips, but I had no idea what they were saying. Nor did I have any idea who was saying them. The recent knocking of my head had done a blurry number on my eyes, so I rubbed them while I answered.

"I'm fine, really, no need to worry about me, I'm… I guess that teaches me for running-" My voice caught as I blinked and looked up at her, finally able to see, jumping at the unexpected sight in front of me.

"Running?" A nerdy middle-aged man with mismatching striped tie and argyle sweater-vest inquired with a condemning look on his face asked. I glanced around only to see that the angel had, in fact, disappeared. _I may have said I was fine, but I didn't mean it. I just didn't want her to be sad_. I mused in my mind before realizing that the man was sill looking at me, expectantly waiting a reply.

"I'm sorry Sir," I said, doing my best to sound apologetic and not distracted by feelings of longing that seemed to be rushing over me after realizing that the angel had disappeared. "It's my first day here and I'm already late. I guess I was just trying to get to cla-" He cut me off again.

"And who, exactly, were you talking to?" He inquired.

"No one- myself, I was talking to myself." Not sure why I was lying for the girl that I had barely seen the back of the head of. "I tripped and fell and was criticizing myself for being an idiot and running." I quickly explained. He seemed to size me up for a second before nodding his head at me once and stating.

"Well then, welcome. You better got to class." He then turned walked away from me going into room B2. I read the sign by the B2 that read "Mr. Peeble" and took out my schedule, sighing in relief when the name Peeble came up nowhere. I walked over to room B5, took a deep breath, anticipating the awaited nightmare, and opened the door.

I opened the door and took one step inside. Instantly, twenty-some heads shot their eyes up at me, exactly as I was hoping wouldn't happen. I averted my eyes from the interested, curious, and somewhat stunned _classmates_ of mine. Most of them were probably stunned to see a new student in La Push-- not many people moved _to_ La Push for any reason, they just moved _away--_ and even more stunned to see _me._ Of course, they had all seen me before, in the resemblances of Quil, Embry, and the rest of the pack, but they hadn't met me yet. Embry even informed me yesterday that they had announced a new member of 'the gang.' I hit him. I did not want to be the center of attention. Being the 'new guy' was hard enough, without having to deal with being known as one of one of 'the gang.' Not like I could hide it. Being over six and a half feet and looking like one of 'them' was obvious enough.

Just then, the teacher stood up and motioned me over. As I approached him, I quickly looked him over. He was an average height maybe 5'11 with thick grey-black hair. He was a light tan color, with deep set eyes; he obviously had a bit of Quilite in him. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans, a purple dress shirt, and a grin. Most teachers would me grim at this time of the morning having to keep a bunch of grumbling rowdy teenagers in line, but he actually seemed fairly pleasant. He put his hand on my shoulder.

"Good morning, sir, I am Mr. M." Then he turned back towards the class. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you that we'd be getting a new student this week. Everyone, this is... uh..." He turned around and shuffled some papers on his desk before turning back around with some in his hand. I expected him to try and pronounce my name, saying it wrong somehow. Instead, he just chuckled and looked at me. "Interresting name." That surprised me. He simply put the paper out in front of me and pointed to my name as he repeated, "Everyone, this is..." I decided that I liked his easy-going demeanor, and gave a small smile.

"Chaz-Zonta..." I mumbled, feeling stupid because of my name. It was then that I remembered Sam's words when I changed. "_...you will get through this, and toughen up. I know. You want to die, but you won't. You will get through this and you will be string. You are strong. You will never feel inferior to anyone, ever. You are strong. You can get through this..." _I knew that it wasn't quite as bad as changing, but I decided to take that as encouragement. I stood up a little straighter and squared my shoulders, raising my head and turning towards the class a little more. "Chaz." I stated, smiling the warmest smile I could manage, and hearing a few girls in the class sigh. Mr. M nodded and told the class to introduce themselves.

All at once, everyone in the class started introducing themselves. I scanned the room to the right, laughing to myself as I saw a few bobble-heads openly flirting with me, and one of the jock-looking boys stood up and yelled, "I am Spartacus!" I then scanned the left of the room, feeling as my whole world stopped. Time no longer existed. No one else existed. It was only me, only _her_, and millions of miles in-between us. I knew _she_ was the one from the hall. The reason my legs stopped working, and the reason that I gained a new realization of physics.

I also knew the feelings from somewhere. I had seen them in Sam's head. I had felt them through Quil's thoughts. I felt them radiate off Jared. All of those emotions were flooding back to me now, only a million times stronger. I had just imprinted, and I knew it.

Suddenly, a million brick landed on my chest. The pressure and longing to go to _her _was ripping me into a million pieces. My hands started shaking ever so lightly. I saw _her_ head start to move and tore my gaze away, breathing calming breaths to relax myself. I soon realized my gaze had landed on a blonde girl with too much of her shirt missing as she winked at me. Ugh. _Who did she think she was, her?_ I thought, mentally pointing in the direction of the angel.

I looked back to my teacher who help up his hands. I hadn't even realized that they were still buzzing random things at me. How long had this been going on? Mr. M laughed and said something about there being a quiz on names after class, gave me a textbook and motioned me to sit on the back row, at a middle table. I nodded and got to my seat quickly, still breathing in and out calmly trying to steady my hands, and closed my eyes.

After a few minutes, and being sure that I was calm, I opened my eyes again. Mr. M was talking about some random thing and people were laughing and nodding. I took a deep breath and quickly glanced back to _her._ I saw that she was looking down, and took the opportunity to look at _her_. To really be able to look at _her_. I wanted to know everything about her. Her favorite color, her favorite food, what her laugh sounded like, how her lips moved when she talked, what she liked on pizza, what she wanted to do with her life, what her family was like... everything.

However, since we were in the middle of class, there was only so much I could do. I looked her over and memorized everything I saw. How do I explain an angel? She was small; compared to me everyone was small. I guessed maybe five and a half feet tall. Probably less. She had medium-length brown hair with a died red tint to it. Her face was a beautiful heart shape, with a small nose and big, sparkling green eyes.

She didn't dress like the other girls I had seen so far, either. She didn't wear make-up, or anything with glitter or shine to it. She had on a red shirt with grey swirls and stars on it, that made her hair stand out even more. As I scanned down I saw that she had on dark blue jeans with stress marks and tears on them. She was sitting sideways on her chair, and propping a pair of black vans on the empty chair next to her. In her hand she held a crumpled piece of paper that her eyes were scanning. Every so-often they would brighten or dim. As she read, I swear I saw a small smile dance to her lips, before fading away.

I watched her pull a black pen from behind her ear and twirl it in her hand, clinking it against a ring on her thumb. She set the paper on her desk and scribbled something out before refolding it. She turned to her side, reached over the table, and dropped it on the lap of a curly-haired girl in front of her.

Suddenly, I saw _her_ head start to move my way. I new her eyes would soon follow. I longed to be able to gaze into _her_ eyes, with her gazing back, but I didn't think that I could control myself. So, I tore my eyes away, just as I felt her eyes on the side of my head. I was melting. I was being ripped apart. I so wanted to go to _her_. Just to be able to look at her freely, for as long as I wanted. I wanted to wrap _her_ in my arms and make sure nothing could ever happen to _her_. I wanted, I longed... I was pulled out of my thoughts by Mr. M.

"Aiden?" he asked, again. "Aiiidennn," he sang. I felt _her_ gaze release as I heard the most glorious sound in the world; her voice.

"Hm? Yes?"

_Aiden. _I thought, attaching it to every image and feeling I had of her. _Aiden, Aiden, Aiden. _It echoed off the walls of my brain. I decided it was the best word known to man, my favorite word, and the meaning of my life. _Aiden._

"Are you with us today?" Mr. M asked, again pulling me out of my thoughts. I realized that he was looking at me.

"I.. I'm sorry... uh.." I couldn't think of an actual sentence, so I decided to leave it at that. I then that the rest of the class was looking at me, including... _Aiden. _The pressure in my chest was unbearable. I shot my hand up and asked to use the restroom.

"This school does not have restrooms I'm sorry." He said, with a straight face, before smiling. "Go ahead." I grabbed my bag and headed out of the room as fast as I was allowed to in front of humans. I headed down the hall and around the corner before running into a very hard, very warm wall. I stepped back a bit before realizing what it was.


	4. Imprint

**Chapter Three:**

**"Imprint" **

**Monday November 18**

**CPOV:**

I backed up a bit before realizing what I had hit.

"Embry!" I exclaimed, practically jumping on him and wrapping my arms around him, crushing him. "Awe, I love you, bud!"

"Gaaaah! Get him off, get him off!" he whined, slapping at my arms. I released him as I heard a low chuckle behind me.

"Awe, don't hurt the poor guy, he didn't _mean_ to hurt your car," Jacob said. Wait-- my car??

"What!?" I demanded, whirling around instantly-- forgetting my recent problems-- he just chuckled again and squeezed my shoulder.

"Just messin' with ya, old buddy, old pal." I sighed at the expense of my car before glaring at him.

"Thanks for that. I really needed that right now," I seethed, dripping it in as much sarcasm as I could muster-up. They both seemed to notice that something wasn't right, so I figured I'd tell them.

* * *

We were outside, across the back parking lot, walking into the woods. I threw the remaining of my clothes off and exploded, followed by Jacob, followed by Embry. Instantly feeling embarrassed by what they were about to see, I dropped to the ground and covered my face with my paws as I let the mornings events fly through my head. After a few minutes it was over, but I still couldn't seem to get over the feeling of embarrassment. I mean, what was I supposed to do? Walk up to her and tell her: _'Hey, I'm a werewolf and I just imprinted on you so now you have to love me'?? _I think not. Jake and Embry seemed to hear that, too, because they were now beside me, nudging me with their shoulders.

"Hey, its not so bad, man_._" Embry thought._ "_You can talk to Sam about it later; he'll help you with it all." He thought, trying to sound encouraging.

"Yeah," Jake added."Jared, too." He paused for a second, niether too sure about what to say, before Jake's thought started up wildly. "Hey! We could help you a bit right now." He thought, sounding a bit too excited. He must've heard those feelings, too, because he reassured me. Soon enough, thoughts and images of her were flying through my head at a million miles an hour as I heard Jacob and Embry both thinking '_Aiden'_ as hard as possible.

One after another, after another, after another, images of her were flying by. They puzzled me, though, because none of them seemed to be related. They were all quick shots or videos of her doing or saying something random. In one she was walking down the hall singing, in another, she was standing on a desk, proclaiming something, the next one looked like her serving coffee, and then I caught one of her doing the moonwalk… The images trailed off.

"What was all that supposed to tell me, exactly??" I thought, obviously frustrated. I heard Embry internally sigh and Jacob search for the right words.

"It means that she's very… random?" Embry tried to supply.

"She's very… unpredictable!" Jacob stated, happy with his choice in words. I thought for a moment before replying.

"I think that I'm okay with unpredictable." I thought, believing myself. "I mean, I love surprises." I thought, smiling.

"Then you'll definitely love this…" Jacob thought, mocking my enthusiasm.

"Well, thanks." I thought, phasing back, and dressing quickly. "I think I'll opt out and go think all this through. Sam will help." I stated, grabbing my bag.

"Skipping on your first day? Tsk, tsk." Embry said, chuckling.

"I'm so proud!" Jake added, slipping his shirt back on.

"See you gents later." I said, inconspicuously dashing to my car.


	5. Jealous, Much

**Chapter 4:**

"**Jealous, Much"**

**Monday November 25**

**CPOV:**

I reached into my locker, trying to look pre-occupied as I watched them. It had been exactly one week since I had imprinted on Aiden, and I still couldn't bring myself to approach her. I had her in every class, and I watched her every moment that I was at school and some when I wasn't, but I couldn't bring myself to tell her. I was ready to have her to mysel--; that wasn't a doubt. It was killing me more and more every second that I spent without her in my arms-- but I didn't think I was ready. I didn't want to push myself, my self-control. So, here I stood, thinking, waiting, longing.

I knew by now that she had several guy friends. It bothered me, at first, yes. It made me angry, jealous, and so much more. I felt the need to protect her from them, to tell them that she was mine and only mine. However, my animal instincts relaxed a bit when I watched them closer and found that two of her three guy friends, Rob and Ander, were definitely only friends, and treated her very well. Nicolai, the third one, however, still made me very, very… I will admit it, _jealous_. They seemed so very close. It pained me to watch him with her. I knew they were friends. I knew they were not 'dating.' I knew he was not her boyfriend. But… he made her so happy. I wanted that to be me.

I wanted to be the one that she would joke around with. I wanted to be the one that she annoyed by poking me in the side while I was trying to sleep in class. I wanted to be the one that she came running to celebrating the 'B+' she got on her Algebra II exam. I wanted to be the one she randomly came up behind and scared the living daylights out of. I wanted to be the one she passed noted so saying that she was intruding his house for the weekend, inviting herself over for an un-stated amount of time. I wanted to be her everything. But, for now, it seemed that the only person who got to be that close to her were her best friends; Nicolai included. I had seen the people that she talked to and about, and picked up on her favorite people.

Nicolai was the first. He was relatively tall-- roughly 6'3. He had short, messy black hair with a few streaks of white dyed into it, and had pale skin and bright blue eyes. He dressed a lot like her, ripped jeans and stressed or hooded shirts, and had more than one ear piercing. He, however, also had his eyebrow pierced, which I thought was rather odd. He was actually a really nice guy. I felt bad for disliking him, but I couldn't help the instincts, right? Right.

Her other two guy friends were Rob and Ander; both were also very good looking. Rob was shorter than Nicolai, and more muscular. He also looked older that the others, even more so with the help of a "soul patch" goatee that he grew. Ander was a little shorter than Rob, and much smaller. He had light blonde hair, but darker skin. His appearance was that of a surfer, actually-- though his style was opposite. They all took care of my angel, but didn't show actual interest in her, which made my heart hurt less when I saw them with her.

Next, there was Laine. She was taller than Aiden's 5'3, making her about 5'6, and curvier too. She had long, curly blonde-brown hair that spilled over her shoulders and around her round face, and had deep brown eyes, that were always warm and friendly. She and Aiden always seemed to be laughing about something, joking about doing something stupid, and then, before Laine could stop her, Aiden was doing it. Not necessarily stupid, just spontaneous or silly; things like asking Mr. Peebles where he got his toupee, or commenting on how her grandmother has the same shirt as him. Then she would return to Laine, with a smile of accomplishment on her face, which made Laine shake her head at her friend, whom she assumed needed a little therapy.

She made me laugh, too. It was so easy how she made me happy. Just seeing her did the job. But, when she did those things, and made me laugh, my love for her only grew. She was amazing, and unpredictable, and I loved her for it. Now the problem is letting her know...

* * *

**Monday, December 1**

BuzzBuzzRingRingRingRing

I woke up to the loud sound, instinctively shoving the pillow back down over my head.

"Stupid school," I murmured, under my breath. I rolled over and stretched. I didn't want to get up.

Wait!

I jumped up, rushed to the bathroom and took my shower in record time. Today was the day. I had told myself this all weekend. Today was the day that I was going to approach Aiden. I had no idea how, but, marking my words, it was going to happen. All weekend, I had been thinking about it. I had been dreading it, and looking forward to it all in one. My brain had come up with ever possible scenario and situation until I finally forced myself to listen to something Sam had told me. Something about not stressing the moment, but letting it come to you. That was exactly what I planned on doing.

I ran back into my room, threw some clothes on and grabbed my bag. As I started rushing out of the house, I had a strange desire to evaluate myself. I stopped in front of the mirror in the small hallway and looked myself over briefly. I thought I looked like crap. My eyes were bloodshot from not enough sleep, and my hair was still wet and sticking to the side of my head. Wet, my hair was pitch-black, but in the sunlight it almost had a blue tint to it. I then noticed that my hair was longer than I remembered; then again, I didn't look at myself often. _It doesn't look long, really… more like shaggy. _I thought. _I wonder if she likes shaggy hair… Or maybe I should cut it. Hmm… I should ask her first… _I added, before remembering something extremely important. _You have to talk to her first, idiot._

I looked down and noticed that my black shirt looked a size too small. …_It does compliment my muscles very well._ I thought, smiling at myself. I looked down further to see that the jeans I grabbed were somewhat shredded and stressed-- soon to become cut-offs. I was about to turn around and change, before I remembered that it was the way Aiden dressed, on_ purpose_. _Maybe she'll like it then. _I thought, nodding at myself in approval before flying out the door.


	6. Luck

**Chapter 5**

"**Luck"**

**Monday December 1st**

**CPOV**

As I walked down the hall, my brain barely even registered the words that came out of Seth's mouth. I had no idea what he was saying. I had no idea the general topic. I didn't even know if he was speaking English, and I didn't care. No offence to him, but there was other, more important things, on my mind. Aiden; the most amazing, spectacular, wonderful…

My thoughts stopped as I spotted her. My eyes locked on her, and I forgot all about the worry I felt since the last time I saw her. All the pressure on my chest that felt like I was being hit in the abdomen with a wrecking ball shattered. She was safe. That was all that mattered. She was safe and, by the looks of things, she was happy.

My heart leapt as it registered in my brain that we were making our way towards her, and again when it saw the crowd she was talking to slowly disperse. I was fifteen feet from her; close enough to smell her sweet edgy scent, and to hear her beating heart. I was ten feet away, able to see every feature of her perfectly, and smell her scent even stronger, hear her heartbeat louder. A five feet, my entire being was tightening and aching , longing to be able to reach out and hold her.

Paul's voice pulled me out of my thought process with his annoyingly loud voice. As soon as he realized I was wrapped up in thinking about her, he got irritated at my lack of courage to "_make a move already," _before doing something completely irrational.

"Aiden, have you met my bud, Chaz?" He asked, all too loudly, and shoving me towards her.

"_Are you a flipping idiot? I could squish her! And, are you TRYING to test my self control? Don't you EVER listen to Sam!? Imbecile!" _The thoughts came spewing out of my head before I had time to stop myself. If I thought I had to test my self control before. Oh, man, was I in for it, now.

Most anyone else would be utterly afraid of this situation; pressed up against a wall, face to face with me, a "giant._"_ At a whopping six foot seven and a half inches tall, I was strong enough to bench-press the weight of a house. Of course any one else would be utterly afraid; in this situation, with nowhere to go, no less. Any other girl would at least have a set expression of either fear or... Alright, I'll just say girls flirt with me a lot... A LOT. I don't like to think of myself as that kind of guy, but being practically a man-- looking like I could pass for twenty-- with the muscle of, well, a werewolf, some of those girls were probably dreaming of a situation like this. Ugh. Yet, here I was, in this situation, with _her,_ who appeared completely unfazed by it. I sighed to myself. She's incredible.

Being this close to her was making my entire being scream with all that it had. The longing to merely reach out and touch her felt like it was physically crushing me piece by piece. She broke me out of my thoughts as I looked down at her as she started tilting her head and raising one of her eyebrows. I expected to be staring into her eyes. Instead, I was staring at her perfect face, and she was staring straight ahead, quite intently. I expected her to be mad at me for tripping onto her and pinning her to a locker. Instead she did something unexpected.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to the small bump in the middle of my chest, under my shirt. I tried to speak, but my voice felt inaudible. Had she literally just taken my voice away? I cleared my throat and manage to croak out a reply; more of a mree noise than a question.

"Hm?"

"This," she said, furring her brow and paying a finger on the bump. Even though it was not physical contact, it made my skin burn with joy. I, again, broke myself out of my thoughts to answer her. What was she asking about? Oh, right.

"Its, uh…" I had to clear my throat again. I suddenly realized I was still leaning over her, trapping her against the lockers. I stepped back, allowing her room to run in fear if she so desired and, remembering Sam's words, squared my shoulders. To my joy, and somewhat surprise, she stood, unmoving, still staring at my chest. I remembered what she was asking about and pulled the chord out from under my shirt, and holding it out so that she could see the pendant; a small wolves head carved out of wood.

"It's a family heir-loom," I informed her. She reached up to grab it, and I dropped it in her hand, fearing what would happen if my skin touched hers. She stroked the edges of it with her thumb and forefingers. "It was the last thing my father gave to me." I stated, though not sure why. She nodded her head in understanding, never releasing her gaze on the charm.

"So, it's kind of like a good luck charm or something?" she asked. I mulled the idea of luck and becoming a werewolf around in my head before replying.

"It's something like that," I said, staring at her. She then did something completely… unexpected. She brought the wolf up to her and pressed her lips to it before releasing it to hit my chest again.

"Well, good luck then," she said in an up-beat voice, finally looking at me for a split second, and winked before turning on her heel and walked away. I couldn't move. I stared after her in awe, barely hearing the warning bell echo through the almost-empty halls. If only she had some idea how much I actually needed that luck, and, in a weird way, I felt like she may have just given it to me.

_Soon,_ I promised myself. _You will-- soon. _


	7. Hanging Out

**(A/N) Aiden POV! ****Yay!  
I thought it was about time  
for us all to get into her head. ;)**

**Chapter 6**

"**Hanging Out"**

**Sunday November 17**

**APOV: **

"See yah," Laine and I both said at the same time, not even bothering to look up from the movie. I didn't even notice that Nicolai was still standing there, staring at us intently, until he finally spoke up.

"You two are unbelievable," he muttered, before turning around to walk out the door. Laine looked up at him, a bit puzzled.

"Excuse me?" She inquired, with a very defensive look on her face. Ut. Oh.

"You've seen this movie _more_ than a hundred times!" he exclaimed, pointing to the TV that both Laine and I appeared glued to. "Yet, you're so intrigued by it, that you can't pull away from it to say goodbye to a _dear friend_?" He motioned to himself, stepping in front of my line of vision to the TV.

"We love this movie," I stated, throwing a piece of popcorn at his head. "Now, move. You're making Aiden miss Ian Snyder," I whined, throwing another piece of popcorn t him, hitting him between the eyes. Still no moving. More popcorn throwing. Ugh.

"Aiden!" he whined, trying to bat the popcorn away. "You've seen this movie _more_ than a hundred times," he informed us, yet again.

"We've seen _you_ more than a hundred times!" I retaliated, throwing more popcorn. Laine held up a finger my direction and looked at Nicolai.

"We've seen _your face_ more than a hundred times," she corrected me.

"Ouch," Nicolai said, forcing a mock-hurt look on his face.

"Awe, I'm sorry," Laine said. "Do you feel unappreciated?" He simply smiled as he stuck put his bottom lip.

"Maybe," he muttered, trying to look pathetic.

"Well, what do you expect?" I asked, giving up on watching the movie with him in my way. "Do you want a multitude of hugs and kisses and pleas to stay every time you go to leave?" I asked, sarcastically.

He wrinkled his nose at that thought. "Ugh, no."

Laine's look turned a bit devious at that. "I think he does," she warned. Nicolai faked fear and cries for help and Laine jumped off the couch and into his arms. She pecked him on the cheek and she let go. He smiled wide, raised his pierced eyebrow, and held his arms out to me. I scoffed at him.

"Ugh. You two make me sick," I said, waving my hand at the door. "Leave. The both of you," I said, turning up the volume on the TV.

"Looks like she doesn't like you either," Nicolai informed Laine.

"Fine then," she said, sticking her tongue out at me. "Be that way," she said, grabbing her bag.

"Bye!" Nicolai said, waving his hand frantically, like a five year old would do.

"Later!" I said, mocking his enthusiasm and hand-waving. Laine shook her head and laughed as the door closed behind them.

* * *

I stretched my arms above my head and cracked my knuckles, waiting for my email to load. It was late, and I was tired, but I hadn't checked my email this weekend. I hoped that there would at least be something from my cousin, Brianna. The page came up, and I scrolled the browser down, skimming through the mail. I signed, seeing that there was nothing in my inbox from her, I scrolled back up, looking for anything interesting.

Spam. Spam. Spam. Band newsletter. Spam.

"That's weird," I said, as my eyes landed on a message from Embry Call. "What on earth would _Embry Call_ be sending me?" I opened it cautiously, as if it were going to reach through the screen and punch me in the face. I noticed a few people from school in the "to" field. Scrolling down, I saw that everyone that the message was sent to, I went to school with. In fact, everyone in La Push High was probably sent this message.

"What- is this some sort of student teacher mutiny or something?" I asked. Yes, aloud. I scanned down and read…

**Dear La Push High students,**

**I just thought I'd update you lovely people on what's going with your own personal gang. **

**We're getting an addition – **

"And that's when I stop caring," I said, shutting off my monitor. Like our school needs any more _over-buff-too-tall-ego-driven-over-loaded-testosterone-'tall-dark-n-handsome-type'-… _Yawn... Oh, let's face it- _gorgeous _guys.


	8. Just another Monday

**Chapter 7**

"**Just another Monday"**

**Sunday November 18**

**APOV: **

I rubbed my eyes and rolled over to look at my clock. Mmm… 7:43 … 7:43!?

"Crap-Crap-CRAP!" I yelled at I threw myself out of bed and into come clothes. "Ugh, crap!" I groaned, as I rushed around my room trying to find my English Lit book. "Oh-freakin-crap!" I mused, as the ponytail I tried to out my hair up in, broke. I hate Mondays. They are evil. If anyone, ever, tried to convince you otherwise, shoot them. In the forehead. With an air-soft gun. Twelve times. I barely make it out of the house with my brain intact.

I walked to school as fast as I could, muttering the entire way. I barely made it in the main doors, before hearing the final bell go off. I rushed down the hall and turned the corner, dashing to my locker. I must have put in the combination too fast, because, when I pulled up on the latch, it didn't open. _Mother of Muffins_! I exclaimed, in my head. _I hate Mondays_! I opened my locker and threw my bag on the hook, only to have it break off, sending my things crashing to the floor. Sigh.

As I was picking my stuff up, reciting the white rabbit, _I'm late; I'm late, for a very important date… _I thought I heard something in the hallway. I shut my locker and looked up just in time to see someone fly around the corner. They abruptly stopped where they stood, sending them flying face-first into the ground. I gasped.

_Well, that was unexpected, _I thought, standing up. At first glance I thought it was Jacob Black, but his hair was too short. He was taller than Quil Altera, but more built than Embry Call. However, I knew that he was definitely one of _them_; the gang. Before I even realized it, I was rushing over to him, feeling truly concerned for this man. Yes, man. I then remembered Embry's e-mail about the new gang member. This must be him. Again, before I realized it, words were coming out of my mouth.

"Are you… the new gang member?" I asked. As he was standing up, I felt this urge to know if he was alright. "I mean, are you hurt?" Why was I asking? Why did I care? He interrupted me by finally looking up at me. One simple glance into his eyes and I felt this… pressure. This deep longing in the pit of my being started pulling at me. If you could feel your soul, I bet this is what it felt like.

My brain was traveling 1000 times per second, and I stopped it, for fear that it would soon implode. I realized that he had a hazy look in his eyes. After glancing at me for only a second, he shot his hands up to tehm and rubbed them while speaking.

"I'm fine really," he said. Dang. His voice drew me to him even more. It was the single most appealing sound I had ever heard. It was deep and husky, but flowed beautifully. _Control yourself!_ I thought, harshly. "No need to worry about me…" Just then I heard Mr. Peeble's door start to open. _Sorry friend!_ I thought, as I dashed to homeroom, taking only the mental note of the unexpected appearance of the boy from the hall with me.

I flew through the door, mumbling something about being sorry for being late to Mr. M. I sat in my chair and closed my eyes, focusing on breathing. I was trying to refocus; trying to clear my head of the boy in the hall. You know which boy I'm talking about. The really, really gorgeous, muscular, tall, dark, amazing… _Stop!_ I yelled at myself. I opened my eyes and jumped at the sight of Laine and Nicolai in front of me, turned around, and staring at me intently. Ugh. Don't ask what's wrong. Don't ask. Don't ask. Don't ask.

"Did you get that e-mail about the new gang 'addition'? Really, do we need more of _them_ in this school?" Nicolai asked, turning back to whatever he was drawing. Another Sigh. He had to bring it up.

"Yeah," I mumbled, trying to ignore him. Unfortunately, Laine wasn't picking up my mood.

"I don't know…" Laine said, with a slight sparkle in her eyes. Ut oh. That can't be good. "Chaz… He sounds kind of sexy," she added, winking at me. Chaz? Chaz, huh? Chaz. Chaz. Chaz. Dang. His name did sound… erm… attractive… It didn't fully do him justice, though. There was so much more… uh… attractiveness where that came from. Nicolai didn't seem happy with her statement. He pulled his face into a pout and looked back at me.

"Not near as sexy as you, of course!" Laine added, poking him in the ribs, making him make a weird 'eek' sound. Yeah. Right. I sighed to myself. No need not telling her.

"I think I just met the new gang… guy…" I told her. "In the hallway. Before class." Her face lit up at this.

"Well?" she asked. "Is he…. Well… You know…?" Her coy smile was making me sick. I shrugged, and turned away, desperately trying to think of something else.

"Don't wanna talk about it, huh?" Nicolai asked, winking at me. I glared at him, as Laine handed me a piece of paper.

"At least write me about it?" she asked, pouting.

"Fine," I mumbled, ripping the paper from her hands, starting to scrawl out the events of my horrible day and my intense attraction to the "Oh-So-Sexy-Mr-Chaz," the clumsy new guy from the hallway. Mr. M started mumbling about something, but abruptly stopped when the door opened. I was to wrapped up in remembering everything that happened and such that I barely heard Mr. M mumble something about a new student. Oh no.

_Don't be him. _I thought. _Please, no. Please, oh, no, please, no. _I pleaded; not entirely sure who I was pleading with. Fate? Circumstance? Reality? Life? Yes, I was pleading with life. Don't let the near future of mine suck. Don't put him in any of my classes. Please. Then I heard it. The sound was magnificent. I don't even know how to describe it. Deep and silky, but husky and… amazing. His voice.

I looked up to see him… Chaz. He looked a lot like the other gang members; tall, very tall, with dark hair and dark eyes. However, he was slouching, something none of them ever did. They were all so cocky and proud. His hair was longer than theirs, too, with the exception of Jacob Black. His hair wasn't near as long as Jacob Blacks, though. It wasn't even really long. It was… shaggy. He was built like the rest of them, though; amazingly muscular. His voice broke me out of my thoughts again.

"Chaz." The voice said. No, more like stated. I noticed that he was standing taller with his shoulders squared. He didn't look like the others when he didn't this, though. He didn't look proud or arrogant. His face broke into a warm smile and my heart birst into liquid. Even as huge and intimidating as he could be, he wasn't. He looked warm and friendly. Mr. M must have pulled the "everyone yells their name at the same time" bit, because everyone started yelling. I tore my gaze off of him and threw the note at Laine. It read:

**I had a bad morning. Another Monday. Everything that could go wrong did. I was late. And then Mr. Clumsy comes flying around the corner of A hall and B hall and into the floor. The end. Ok, not the end. I felt… attracted to him, for some reason. How weird? Very. Great, I bet that new guy is him, right? ...looks up... NO!!**

She quickly wrote something down and handed it back to me.

**Aiden. Its called human nature. You shouldn't feel bad admitting that he's attractive. ;) and really... Chaz Zonta Grey. Even his name sounds hott. **

I read over what she said. Chaz Zonta Grey? She's right. It does sound… appealing… I rolled my eyes in my head as I heard Luke yell 'I am Spartacus!' Really. Like that guy needs another excuse to utter that stupid quote. I replied:

**Yeah, I guess. **

All of a sudden, I felt something strange. It felt like a burst of energy. It radiated through my heart and head before it tingled away, laving an increasing pull that started in the center of myself, and was slowly growing stronger. I suddenly had an urge to look up. I scoffed silently. Mr. Charming was looking right at Misty, a lovely bleached blonde whose ideas of clothing were clothes three sizes too small, too short, or too little. Honestly, if there was anyone who dressed like it was 'casual sex day' at school, this was the girl. Of course he was looking at her. Different kind of guy my behind.

Just then, I saw the hazy look in his eyes disappear and he wrinkled his nose at Misty winking at him and looked away. I laughed. Alright, maybe he's not that bad. He even brushed off Mr. M's lame jokes with a shrug and a smile. Oh, the smile. _Keep it together, Aiden._ I thought. _Keep it together. _I watched him make his way to his seat. He sat down and closed his eyes. Awe. I hope he's not feeling bad. Or maybe he's just trying to get the mental image of Misty out of his head. Heh. Alright. That was low. Laine's note hit me in the side of the head.

**Alright, so you're attracted to this guy. Awesome. ;) Its time you took interest in someone. He seems a little different. Granted, not being Paul is different, but, he seems more shy or something? **

_**Mr. Awesome here. I confiscated your note. Passing notes in class, huh? Tsk, tsk. The wages of sin, the wages of sin my friend. Talking about the new kid? …You're attracted to him, huh, Aid? Well, he didn't seem to overlook you either. Did you see that look? Oviou… Obvi… obviously not, huh? Well, he was staring at you, my dear. Staring. Did you see the face he made at Misty? That was hillarious**_

**Sorry about "Mr. Awesome," he's nosy. Anyway. I like his hair. : )**

I had to smile at that. Mr. Aweosme. Heh. Wait. He looked at me? What? _No. _I told myself. _You can't care. You don't know him. You have to… remain neutral about this boy. …Man. Very attractive, muscular… Stop. _I pulled my pen out from behind my ear, clinking it against my thumb ring to the beat of some song in my head. What to tell "Mr. Awesome" and "Miss Cupid?"

**Dear Mr. Awesome and Ms. Cupid- I don't know this gentlemen. Maybe I'll get to know him. Maybe not. Until then, no further action is to be taken on Aiden concerning such matters. I don't care if its natural to feel attracted to him. He's… I don't know. I don't know him. Rest it, please. Thanks. **

Yes. I realize how dumb that sounded. Oh well. I folded the paper back up, reached over the desk, and dropped it into Laine's lap. I turned back around, suddenly feeling that energy from earlier. As before, it turned into the pull; the unmistakable magnetic pull. I looked up, only to see Chaz. Chaz, Chaz, Chaz. Only to see Chaz with his hand on the side of his head facing me, twirling his hair in his fingers. Wow. Even his nervous habits were- _Stop. Just. Stop._ Just then I thought I heard Mr. M say something.

"Aiiiidennnnn?" He was singing now? I tore my gaze away from the beautiful boy to see Mr. M waiting patiently.

"Hm, Yes?" I managed to mumble. Could I be any more pathetic? "Sorry, I was spaced out," I said. Obviously. Could I come up with a lamer excuse? No? Didn't think so. He just laughed.

"Anyone else feel like we need naptime today? Monday too tiring?" he asked, thinking my Monday morning rut was funny. He looked out across the room, and his eyes landed on the central back of the room. I followed his gaze. Guess who?

"Are you with us today?" Mr. M asked him, with a little laughter. He looked pretty spaced out, too.

"I.. I'm sorry... uh.." He mumbled, looking a little pained. Then he shot his hand up and asked to use the bathroom. Unexpected, I must say.

"This school does not have restrooms I'm sorry." Mr. M said, with a straight face, before smiling. "Go ahead." Hillarious. No. The poor guy looked like he was about to explode. Maybe he's just not good under pressure.

He grabbed his bag and rushed out the door. Pains shot through my chest as I heard the latch on the door click. I had no idea why I was feeling like this. Maybe I'm just emotional? PMS-ing or something? Maybe I really do need a boyfriend. My emotions are going haywire? Yus. That must be it. That has to be it. Because I couldn't honestly feel this strongly about someone I know nothing about, right? If that's the case, why to I seem to feel worse when I acknowledge that?

Sigh. Its Monday, that's all I can figure. Ouch. Heart, stop that. Either explain yourself or stay quiet. Ouch! Ugh. _This is going to be one long day,_ I thought to myself, taking out my book and opening it.

* * *

I walked home, trying not to think about Chaz. However, thinking about not thinking about him still counts at thinking about him. I spent the entire day like that. Meanwhile, Laine thought it was adorable that I was "crushing on the new guy" and Nicolai kept referring to how he liked his hair, but that his hair was much better looking. Right. Thank you friends.

The worst part probably is that I didn't see him after first hour; not even at lunch. I was the rest of the gang in the cafeteria, but there was no Chaz. I knew that they knew him, because I heard Embry and Jacob say something with his name that made the rest of them laugh.

Another horrible thing to add to the list. Everyone else was talking about him. The gang doesn't get "new members." They're a bunch of friends; that just happen to all look related. So, everyone was talking about him. Everyone who was in my first hour was talking about him, and everyone who wasn't, was either repeating things they heard or, just for the mere drama, making new things up.

I couldn't believe I was going crazy about this. I shouldn't care. Ugh. I got to my house, barely sane. I sulked into the living room and threw myself on the couch. I can't believe I have to go back there tomorrow.


	9. Feelings Verse Feelings

**Chapter 8**

"**Feelings verse Feelings"**

**APOV: Monday November 25**

I was standing around my locker with Rob and Ander. I think they were talking about some stupid movie or something. Honestly, I wasn't really sure.

It had been an entire week since Chaz had come to La Push high. I had found out some things about him, but it was never enough; never enough to make me feel like I knew enough about him to relate to him. Well, his first day here, I guess he had something he had to do, so he missed the rest of the day. The next day, though was a mixture of a lot of things.

First off, I was relieved to know that he came back. I can't think of a time when I felt happier. A weird thing, though is that that pressure that I felt the first time I saw him, feeling like I should go to him, was growing; driving me crazy. Next, I found out that he moved to La Push because his parents died. Then, I hear that his schedule wasn't right so he had to get his classes rearranged. The thing is, they're all my classes! My first thought was to be a little paranoid. You know, thinking that he was like staking me. But, I noticed that he didn't even register my presence, so I got over it.

Alright, I most certainly did not get over it.

Every second, every minute, every hour, every class period, every lunch period, every day; I was stuck wondering. Why did I feel attracted to him? Alright, besides the obvious; yes, he was… attractive, but I didn't care about that. I asked Laine about it. That was a mistake. She simply told me about how no one could blame me; after all he was 'hotttttttttt.' Right, that may be, but I am most certainly not shallowwwww.

Was I?

No, I was most certainly _not_ shallow. If I were, I would have felt like this about Jacob, or Embry or Quil, or, heaven forbid, _Paul_. But I didn't. The only time I got those unmistakable feelings were when I saw Chaz.

I tried to fight the feelings. I tried to tell myself that he was just another one of them, but it hadn't worked for long. I believed it when I told myself after I got home from school. I believed it when I told myself while I was trying to concentrate on homework. I even believed it when I was telling myself walking to school.

Then, though, I would see him in the hall way, laughing with his friends, with the most pure and genuine smile dancing across his face, and all those lies I built up came knocking down. I would see him pick someone's book up that they dropped, and hand it to them as he smiled warmly, and my lies, once again, shattered. I would see him simply walk away, and chuckle a bit, wisdom sparking in his eyes, when someone was being a jerk to him, and I had to force myself to build back up those darn walls.

I knew that any other girl would have fallen at his feet by now. Alright, they already have. But I knew I couldn't do that. As much as that infamous, strange, exciting and terrifying feeling told me to, I could not do that. I wasn't one for high school relationship stuff. It always turned out badly. It always got someone heartbroken. It always turned people against each other. The only thing that they were good for was drama. I hate drama.

Another thing about relationships is that you have to give half of yourself to someone. I don't think I would be ready to do that. I'm not entirely sure who all of me is yet. How can I give half of myself to someone, when I don't know what that half is? Or, would I be giving the half of me that I know to them, and keeping the unknown part for myself? Would that mean that I, myself, am no one, and they are all that I have of myself? Then, if they broke my heart, I would, truly, be broken; the only thing I knew of myself would have died. I don't need that kind of pain. Take it or leave it? I'm leaving it.

Though, it is getting harder and harder to leave it, and that is making me mad. Honestly, I'm a strong person. I've always been a strong person. People rely on me to be a strong person; especially my friends. I'm the one who people turn to for encouragement or advice. Wisdom is one of the things that I seek most. Not for my benefit, mind you, but so that I could help others with it. That's who I am, that's what I do. I can't have that squished by someone who doesn't appreciate it.

"Aiden, my love!" my deep thoughts were broken by Nicolai's voice. I heard him before I saw him. Before I knew it, he was right in front of me with arms open wide; hoodie in one hand. "You left this on the couch. Good thing I got up later than you, huh?" he asked, obviously proud of himself. Of course, he got up later then me, he's lazy.

"Sure, I guess," I mumbled, grabbing the sweatshirt and putting it on. I looked up at him. His arms were sill spread out, and his huge smile was now starting to look pained. Alright, no need to take my emotional anxiety out on him. "Thanks Nicolai!" I exclaimed, jumping into his arms, allowing him to pick me up, like he always does, making me laugh.

"…Alright, Nick'o, put me down," I commanded, after the hug had obviously been over, or should have.

"Are you still a little sad?" he asked, remembering how I had acted weird all weekend.

"Yeah, but-"

"Then no," he said, twirling me around really fast, making me laugh as my hair came out from behind my ears and tickled my face. Even though he couldn't understand, he helped. I love my friends.


	10. Giving In, Almost

**Chapter 9**

"**Giving In. Almost"**

**APOV**

**Monday December 1**

I sleepily broke out of my slumber as I felt something next to my head. I turned my head to the side and came face-to-face with Ranger; my german-shepherd baby.

"Mmmmgh," I groaned, trying to push his face off of the couch. He backed up, and then barked at me. "Fine! I'm getting up, I'm getting up." I grumbled, slinking off the couch and into the kitchen.

I opened the back door and let him out before turning to the cupboard for cereal. Dang. All that had was Raisin Bran. I hate raisins, and bran sounds too… healthy. I know, I shouldn't be complaining, after all, Nicolai and his family didn't have to put up with me. This was, after all, the second weekend in a row that I'd crashed their house.

My mom went on a lot of business trips, and with our house containing just the two of us, I usually got lonely and invaded Laine or Nicolai's house. Laine's house was alright, but I liked Nicolai's better. Laine wasn't home much on the weekends. When her shop-o-holic mom didn't take her and her younger sister somewhere, Laine spent the weekend in Port Angles with her dad, step mom and step brother. I visited there with her once. They are all pretty quiet and introverted, so it was ...very awkward ...all weekend.

I definitely like Nicolai's house better. He lives with Carrie and Trent, his mom and step dad. Trent's daughter Liz also lived with them, and Trent's other daughter, Bethany, came home only once a month from college. At first, I thought it was weird that Nicolai called his parents by their first names, but now I don't really think much about it. Trent and Carrie are really laid back. I love being over here because they all get along so well. They're always joking and poking fun at each other. They're pretty much the big happy family that I didn't have.

"Mornin, babe!" I flinched and hit my head on the cupboard door. Carrie simply giggled and patted me on the head. "Awe, chicky-poo, you are scared far too easily," She said, touching her finger to the tip of my nose. I handed her the raisin bran and slumped to the table, grabbing an apple out of the bowl. "Get enough sleep?" She asked me, pouring soy milk on her delicious health-festival of a breakfast.

"Um, yeah." Why? Did I look tired? _Great. I look like crap. _I thought. "Why?" Oh. I was only supposed to think that. Yet, she sat down across from me and smiled. The smile. The smile that she reserves for when she's all smart and or conversational. She looked at me for a minute, just smiling, slightly on the verge of creepy before she spoke.

"You look like something's bothering you," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. Did I? Do I? ...Really?

"Um, thanks for noticing... but I don't really think anything is wrong," I said, breaking eye contact. I stared at s spot on the wall, quickly running through things that could be bothering me. "My mom is out of town- but she's out of town a lot. Laine is gone- but she's gone a lot. Nothing new. Nothing changed. Except Chaz- but nothing has changed for two weeks; other than the initial change, that is. Nothing has happened. ...Hm... nothing... has... happened... Maybe. ...Maybe its eating me alive. Ok, so what if it is? I've held it together. I am perfectly fine with being in denial. ...Right?" My thoughts were broken by the sound of the back door being shut. Carrie came back around the table and sat down, sighing.

"Alright, baby, what I say next might scare you." What? Ut Oh. I think I might just be mortified. I don't want to see scary Carrie. She looked expectant, so I nodded, prodding her on. "You just experienced mental vomit."

"What?" I was confused, my brain didn't appear to be ruptured in any way.

"You just spewed all that out loud." Oh crap. "But you know what?" I gave her a questioning look. "I think it was good for you!" She was smiling now. Smiling? No. Beaming. She thought that this was a good thing?

"No, Carrie, this is not good," I assured her, my voice glazed with sadness. She shook her head at me and smiled.

"Babe, I think I know one problem." She said, doing the nose thing again. "You have an issue- and no one to talk about it with. Your mom and Laine are busy and you don't want to talk to your guy friends, am I right?"

"Wow. You are good." I said- befuddled. "You got that out of refusal of bran mush and a little psycho brain-spewing?"

"Mental vomit," she corrected.

"Right. Mental vomit."

"So, how about you talk to me about this?" She asked, glancing at the clock. "It's only 6:23- we've got a little time."

So, I proceeded to tell her the whole boring story- every little, insignificant, boring detail. When I was finished babbling, I looked Carrie straight in the eyes and sighed. I felt so unbelievably much better!

"Now, you know what you have to do, don't you?" She asked me. Yes. I did know- but could I? Ranger whined at me feet, laying his head on them.

Yes. I could. I can. ...But how?


	11. The Scenario

**Chapter 10**

"**The Scenario"**

**APOV**

**December 1**

I gave Carrie a hug, grabbed my bag and kissed my pup goodbye before heading off to school. I was almost out the front door before I heard Nicolai rushing through the kitchen saying something to Carrie. I slug my bag over my head and continued to think about how to talk to Chaz. I realized it was silly and stupid to be so nervous about talking to someone- but I had no idea how to just _talk_ to him without looking weird. Granted, I didn't care about looking weird most of the time. In fact, I kind of liked looking weird. Odd was my thing. But now… I don't know… For some reason… I _didn't _want to look weird.

Sigh

"Aid! What are you deaf?" Nicolai smacked my arm as he caught up to me. "Did you _not_ hear me yelling at you?" He questioned, as he proceeded to shove a breakfast bar into his mouth.

"Sorry, bud, I was kind of spaced." Thinking about an awesome guy and a potential spark that my mental state is so not ready to face. Smile. …I'm so glad I'm not mental-vomiting anymore.

"Wellp," he said, with his mouth half full of sticky cereal mush- yuck- "What were you so _spaced_ about?" he asked, elbowing me and grinning like my mother does when she sees a cute guy. Wait. Did he know about Chaz? My face fell emotionless.

"Nothing," I said, turning away and picking up pace. He looked my face over and shrugged.

"OK. Lit exam today, you ready?" He said, elbowing me yet again. I groaned.

"Nooooooooo!" I gasped, clinging to his arm; mock fear oozing out of my emotions. "Don't let it be so!" He chuckled at my outrage and nearly fell off the sidewalk, with me leaning on him. Though, it was me who tripped- on a stick- and sent us both to the ground, laughing hysterically.

I was talking to Nicolai and Laine by my locker, still laughing about the 'Sir Evil Sticks-a-Lot: out to paralyze Aiden' when I heard Seth laughing down the hall. My face fell and I felt cold all of a sudden. I knew it was Seth, not… Chaz, but it sent me back into my thoughts of this morning. Laine slapped me on the arm, breaking my thought process.

"I'll go get my camera if you want to see them!" She said, obviously excited. What? Camera? Why?

"Yeah!" I said with face cheerfulness. What were they talking about? They didn't fill me in, of course. Nicolai just jumped in front of her, blocking her path.

"No fair! I wanna see them first!" He exclaimed, starting to rush to Laine's locker. She muttered a name after him and ran to catch up. So much for that explanation.

I looked up, in the direction of Seth's voice and saw him- walking with Paul and… Chaz. I turned around and shuffled through my bag, trying to get my book, but my hands weren't cooperating. I wanted to just grab my book and go to class- I would deal with talking to him later. Finally, I just threw my bag in my locker and decided to take the ridiculing of Mr M. I whirled around and started to take a step forward, but it was too late. I was screwed.

There was a group of people who had migrated to my left, so that direction was out, and to my right was the people traffic. If it were a normal school where… well, where Chaz ceased to exist, I would have jumped into the traffic with no problem. Unfortunately, Chaz did go to this school, and he was just about to walk by me. I glanced around, trying to appear normal when I heard Paul- eughh, Paul- when I heard Paul's horrible voice.

"Aiden, have you met my bud, Chaz?" He asked, all too loudly. I snapped my head forward, but I was too late. My back and head slammed into my locker and I felt my personal space invaded. I could have sworn that I heard a growl, but who knows, in my state of shock. I glanced up to see who the non-voluntary personal space invader was- regretting it instantly.

All of my worries and fear and anxiety about this whole stupid emotions situation that had been growing and growing like a little kid blowing a bubblegum bubble… popped. The pressure in my chest shattered- replaced by another emotion. Oh no. My heart and head started screaming at me louder than they ever have before. I stole another glance up at him.

He was looking away, arms pressed into the lockers, I assumed, body hovering slightly over mine, with an expression that could have killed Paul- had he been anywhere in sight. He looked so incredibly intimidating and scary, angry and dangerous. Yet… I wasn't the least bit scared. I felt _safe_. How wrong is that. I know I don't- in the least bit- like Paul, but this guy was pissed, and I felt _safe_?

I took a deep breath and averted my eyes, calming myself down. _Keep it together, Aid. _I tilted my head down and stared forward intently. I would not let these emotions get to me. _You know you're pressed up against a locker by the boy you can't stop thinking about. He's so attractive. Muscular. …Hot. _Shut up. I will kill that stupid voice. Though, It is really warm in here…

I regained focus and looked forward as I saw, and felt, somehow, his face shift. I swore I could feel him looking at me. It was the strongest sensation I had ever felt. It was like magnetic force. It was so hard not simply turn my head and look at him.

Just then I noticed something on his chest. Other than muscles, that is. I mean lot of- Ok. There was this small uneven bump in the middle of his chest. It looked like he had a necklace on under his shirt. His black, tight- Ok. Not thinking before acting, I tilted my head and quirked my eyebrow.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to his chest. I hoped I didn't sound stupid, like I was asking what his chest was or something.

"Hm?" His voice sounded a little hoarse. Oh no. I wonder if he has a soar throat? What if he's sick? Although- it made his voice deeper and raspier. Mental cough. Back on topic.

"This," I said, furring my brow and putting a finger on the bump. It was hard and a bit pointy. And, even though it was a charm or something, my emotions screamed with joy.

"Its, uh…" He cleared his throat and looked around. I suddenly realized I was still trapped her against the lockers, not minding one second of that fact, either. Then he stepped back, and squared my shoulders. Wow. As if he could look any better. I wanted to look up at his face, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I would melt, I knew it.

I remembered what we were talking about as he pulled a chord out from under his shirt, and held it out from his chest, showing me the pendant. It was a small wolves head carved out of wood.

"It's a family heir-loom," He informed me, in a deep, matter-of-fact tone. I looked at the charm and reacted before I thought about it, I reached up to grab it, and He dropped it in my hand. I was somewhat grateful for that, fearing what would happen if my skin touched his.

I stroked the edges of it with my thumb and forefingers, not able to shake the fact that the wolf gave me this feeling deep in the pit of my stomach. It was a faint glimpse of the pull I feel when Chaz is around.

"It was the last thing my father gave to me." He stated indifferently. I nodded my head in understanding, never releasing my gaze on the charm.

"So, it's kind of like a good luck charm or something?" I asked. I faintly saw him bob his head around a bit, as if thinking.

Finally, he replied, "It's something like that."

Then, again, I acted without thinking. I brought the wolf up to my lips and pressed them against the charm, before releasing it to hit his chest again.

"Well, good luck then," I said, blurting out the first thing that came to mind, in a lame attempt to cover up the whole scenario. I finally brought myself to look at his eyes for a split second. The emotions screamed at me and my heart stopped altogether. I winked at him and turned on my heel to talk away.

I could barely walk- but I knew I had to. I walked straight into first hour, hearing the warning bell, to my desk, and collapsed, whacking my head against the hard surface.

Ow.


	12. Partners Don't Poke Eachother

Previously: …_I stared after her in awe, barely hearing the warning bell echo through the almost-empty halls. __If only she had some idea how much I actually needed that luck today, and, in a weird way, I felt like she may have just given it to me. _"_Tomorrow," I promised myself; "tomorrow."_

**Chapter 11**

"**Partners Don't Poke Each Other"**

**Monday- December 1**

**CPOV**

I walked into homeroom and to my desk in a daze. I realized that what had just happened was nothing to compare to telling Aiden about the fact that I'm a werewolf. Or that I've imprinted on her. Or that this means that we're are soul mates, destined to be together. Or that I'm completely in love with her, despite the fact that I hardly know anything about her. Nonetheless, I was a bit shaken up. I quickly glanced over to her. She was looking my way, but as soon as she caught my eye, she quickly averted her gaze.

"Morning!" Mr. M cheerfully beamed from his desk. He paused and looked at the class, expectantly, as if waiting for a reply. When he didn't get one he furred his brow and stood up. "Alright, alright, happy Monday to you all, too," he said, sarcastically, rolling his eyes. He came around to the front of his desk with a clipboard in hand and smiled, yet again.

"Chris," he said, pointing to a boy who looked barely half-awake. He jumped at his name and rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hand, mumbling a 'mhm' as a response. Mr. M stepped forward and handed him some papers and a roll of scotch tape. "The papers," he explained to the sleepy boy, "have numbers on them." He then handed him another paper explaining, "This is a map. Place the right numbers on the right desks, alright?" He then turned to the rest of the class. "Everybody up!"

No one moved. They all, simply, glanced around at each other confused.

"I said everyone up!" he said, motioning for them to stand. His enthusiasm, again, was met with groans and questions of 'why.' "Because," he elaborated, pointing to himself, "Mr. Teacher says so. Now grab your stuff and go stand against the wall like nice children."

I grabbed my book and glanced over at Aiden, who was being pulled out of her chair by her friends. As soon as they got her out of the chair she laughed and looked up. Suddenly, she caught my eye, and I dropped something. I stepped aside and let someone pass me before I leaned down to grab my book. The book-dropping caused me to lose precious migration time. There were now many more people in my path. I walked up the aisle and around the crowd, only to pass two desks that Aiden was coming out of the middle of.

I caught her scent and my head snapped to the right as her foot caught mine. She barely had time to squeak out a shocked 'ah' before my reflexes kicked in; my hands catching her shoulders. I drew in a ragged breath as my heart started beating erratically. I pulled her back completely upright and turned a bit to look her in the eyes, evaluating her, making sure she was fine. The pit in my stomach started to scream, twisting my emotions in knots. I really had to learn to pull myself together.

"Little clumsy, eh?" I asked, smiling. She broke eye contact and looked down, mumbling a barely audible 'yeah, thanks.' I motioned my hand, slightly bowing, as a gesture to let her to first. As we reached the wall, I decided to leave her alone, as an attempt to calm myself down, but was stopped by Nicolai. As I turned away, he poked me in the arm.

"Hey." I turned to face him, eyebrows raised, as an attempt to ask the question, 'why would you poke me?' He simply smiled and squared his shoulders. "Chaz, I'm Nicolai," he stated, sticking out his hand. I simply nodded and looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Yes. I know," I said, meeting his handshake. Both of us instantly recoiled at each other's touch. "Dude, you're freezing." He shook his head and pet his hand with his other.

"Like you have room to talk you're really hot. I think you're sick." Both of our heads snapped up as Laine and Aiden started laughing. "What??" he asked, obviously we were missing something. Laine spoke up.

"I think you're the sick one, Nick'o, you just called another guy hot." She said, poking him in the ribs.

"Honestly, what is with you people and poking?" I asked, without thinking.

"What?" Laine asked, "You don't like to be…poked?" as she poked me in the ribs, as well, making me jump back.

"No, I," I now swatted Nicolai's hand away, "I don't like being… gaah, stop," I pleaded, looking at the onlooker of my torture, Aiden, who was doing nothing. "Save me!" I exclaimed, extending one arm and reaching for her. She laughed, at our stupidity, I'm guessing, and shook her head.

"No way you're on your ow-" I cut her off by reaching for her and pulling her in front of me. It was a playful gesture, and it got the laughs of the pokers, but it was not the smartest thing in the world. I couldn't help myself; I spun her around in my arms, and turned my back to her friends, who were now poking each other. She looked up at me, and opened her mouth, as if to say something, but no sound came out. I covered up the odd gesture with a playful laugh and smile.

"Fine, then, I'll save you." She smiled and shook her head, but didn't protest. She simply glanced towards her shoulders that my hand were still holding and looked back at my face.

"Right, then, sorry," I offered, removing my hands and crossing my arms awkwardly. I turned back around just in time to see Mr. M finishing writing on the whiteboard.

"There are twenty-eight people in this class," he said. "So, if I put you in groups of two, how many groups would there be?" he asked. A unison answer of 'fourteen' echoed in the room. "Right, fourteen. Then," he continued, "if each of those teams paired up with another team, how many groups would we have?" A unison of 'seven' echoed, and he nodded his head in approval. "Right." He said, pointing to the board. "The fourteen pairs are listed on the board. Find your partner. Then," he said, pointing to the other side of the board, "Find the other team that you will work with. After that," he continued, "find your desks in the new seating arrangement. On the other side of the papers are your topics. Got it?"

"Mr. M, if we are in groups, why do you split us into pairs?" some girl asked, from the back of the room.

"I'm getting there," he informed her. "You see, this is a semi-complicated assignment." The class groaned at the word complicated. "Shh, no complaining," he warned them. "This is a two-part assignment for everyone. See, your group has a general topic, and then each pair picks one side of the issue to do their assignment on. After each pair has finished their sides, the group meshes the two sides together, either by contrasting them, or making them co-relate, understand?" The class nodded and groaned at this. "Alright," he said, obviously proud of his complicated assignment, "This assignment is worth one _third _of your grade." He said, holding his hands up before anyone could protest. "You will have a few days a week to work on the project before Christmas break. Then, after break we will work on only your projects for two months. Sound good?" More groans, and a few questions and he ushered us to the board to see our groups. I decided to lean against the wall and wait for the crowd to clear up, but Nicolai had other ideas.

"Be right back," he informed us, before weaseling through the crowd of people. He returned within twenty seconds, rushing to Laine, and scooping her into a hug, before turning to Aiden and stretching his arms out to her.

"I don't think so," she said, shaking her head. "Tell us what's up without touching me," she warned. I smiled at that.

"Fine," he breathed, before perking up and pudding his arm around Laine and his hand on my arm. "We have a lovely team." He informed us. I shook his hand off and shot him a glance saying 'dude, stop touching me.' Aiden made her adorable confused face by tilting her head and lifting her eyebrow. He straightened up and looked at her like she was incompetent. "I'm partners with Laine," he stated. She rolled her eyes at that.

"Got that." she said. He smiled and poked me in the ribs, making me jump, yet again, while saying, "And we're working with you and the hot guy." Shutter. I turned to him and held up my hands.

"As long as you stop touching me," I said, taking a side-step closer to Aiden, and further from him, "and never call me that again." He sighed and nodded.

"I'll try, but I can't promise anything." Laine rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm.

"C'mon, mister let's find our seats," she said, towing him away. Aiden and I followed silently. Watching her drag him away, however, it brought a question to my mind. I slowed my pace a bit and leaned down to whisper in Aiden's ear. Her scent being so close drove me crazy, and I slightly felt her stiffen beside me, but I attempted to calm myself and asked, pointing ahead of us.

"I'm just curious… are they… well… you know…?" I glanced at her face. She looked a bit confused before a grin spread across her face.

"No," she said, slightly chuckling under her breath.

"I think they're in denial," I whispered. The most beautiful sound flowed from her lips. I looked down at her again, seeing her beautiful face pulled into a grin. She was laughing. I internally sighed. I made her laugh. This made a grin of my own spread across my face. I realized that we were in the back right corner of the room. Nicolai and Laine reached a table and turned around, giving us questioning looks. Aiden automatically tried to stifle her laugh and looked at me.

"So... where are we sitting?" I asked.

Previously:_ I could barely walk- but I knew I had to. I walked straight into first hour, hearing the warning bell, to my desk, and collapsed, whacking my head against the hard surface._

_Ow. _

**APOV**

**Monday December 1st**

I as I looked up, I jumped back at the fact that Nicolai and Laine were turned around, staring at me. I groaned and put one of my flushed cheeks against the cold tabletop. Sure, I was a good actress; at the time. Afterwards, the emotions kind of catch up to me and kick me in the head. In this case, they're kicking me in the heart. Hard.

I flipped my head over and let my other cheek be slightly cooled off, before glancing back up at my onlookers. Nicolai had his eyebrows raised, and Laine had hers pulled together; both were giving me questioning glances. I sat up and opened my mouth to speak, when the hole in my chest screamed, and my eyes darted to the door.

Chaz went right to his seat and started at his table for a bit before glancing my direction. I tore my eyes away, instantly, only to have them land on Laine's face. She opened her mouth, as if to ask me what's up, but was interrupted by Mr. M.

"Morning!" Mr. M cheerfully beamed. _Yes, it is morning_ I thought sarcastically.Mr. M announced he was changing the seating arrangement. Again. Great. Nicolai and Laine were already up, with their stuff, staring at me. I gave them a shocked expression and clutched my chair for dear life. I gave up after a couple of pulled and let them pull me up. I couldn't help but glance at Chaz, and regret it instantly. His eyes met mine, and I quickly looked away. I grabbed my stuff and started following my friends.

I wasn't really thinking, I don't much these days, as I was walking, which was a mistake. As I was emerging from the middle rows in the middle sections of desks, my foot caught something. My small yip for help caught in my throat as I felt warm, strong hands catch my shoulders. My pulse picked up as the warmth spread through my shoulders and sown my spine. At this, my heart started breathing erratically. The arms pulled me upward, and Chaz's eyes scanned my face, as if he were evaluating my sanity for not seeing him there.

"Little clumsy, eh?" he asked, breaking into a smile that just about dazzled me. I broke eye contact and looked at my feet, mumbling a half-hearted thank-you. I saw his hand motion in front of him, telling me to go first. Dang adorable manners.

As we reached the wall by Nicolai and Laine, he started to turn and walk away, and my emotions screamed at me. I tried to ignore them, and leaned against the wall, smiling half-heartedly at Laine. I heard Nicolai say 'hey' and looked up to see what he wanted. My pulse increased, and the pressure in my chest eased when I saw Chaz standing there. Though, he was looking at Nicolai with a slightly irritated expression.

"Chaz, I'm Nicolai," he stated, sticking out his hand. Chaz simply nodded and looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Yes. I know," he said, meeting his handshake and a confused expression. Both of them instantly recoiled at each other's touch.

"Dude, you're freezing," Chaz said, with wide eyes as Nicolai shook his head and pet his hand with his other.

"Like you have room to talk you're really hot. I think you're sick." At that, Laine and I burst out into a laughing fit. "What??" he asked. Chaz and he had matching expressions as they looked at us. Obviously they missed it. Laine spoke up.

"I think you're the sick one, Nick'o, you just called another guy hot." She said, poking him in the ribs.

"Honestly, what is with you people and poking?" Chaz asked. _Oh, dude, you don't want to ask that_ I thought.

"What?" Laine asked, "You don't like to be…poked?" as she poked him in the ribs, as well, making him jump back in surprise.

"No, I," he swatted Nicolai's hand away, "I don't like being… gaah, stop," he pleaded, looking over at me and giving me a look saying 'why are you doing nothing?' "Save me!" he exclaimed, extending one arm and reaching out for me. I continued to laugh at their stupidity and shook my head.

"No way you're on your ow-" he cut me off by reaching out and pulling me in front of him. I'm sure it was a playful gesture, and it got the laughs of the pokers, but I don't think it was not the smartest thing in the world. He suddenly spun me around in his arms while turning his back to my friends, who were now poking each other. I looked up at him, and opened my mouth, as if to protest, but thought better of it. He gave me a playful laugh and smile.

"Fine, then, I'll save you." I smiled and shook my head, but didn't protest. I simply glanced towards my shoulders that his hand were still holding and looked back at his face. His hands were so warm. I wondered why, but decided I didn't care. I wanted nothing else than to lean forward and have him wrap his arms around me. I was broken out of my fantasy as his hands slightly dropped, slightly slid, off of my shoulders, making my heartbeat stutter a bit.

"Right, then, sorry," He said, crossing his arms awkwardly. He must've misunderstood my glance. I wanted badly to protest, but was interrupted by Mr. M. He finished writing on the board and started explaining something about a new big assignment. Everyone, including Chaz, turned to face Mr. M, listening intently. I felt bad, but I just could not concentrate today. I knew Laine and Nicolai would explain later.

Instead, my gaze fell on Chaz. I tried to stop myself, honestly, but I just couldn't. I couldn't figure out why I was so drawn to this guy. Alright, I knew for the most part. He was tall, dark and handsome, with manners, wisdom and a killer smile. But I couldn't help but think that there was something else; some other, unexplained, mysterious, underlying reason for why I feel the way I do around him. Suddenly, Chaz reached out his arm and placed it on the wall not a foot from my head, and leaned on it; I froze.

"Be right back," Nicolai informed us, before weaseling through the crowd of people that were now rushing to the board. He returned within twenty seconds, rushing to Laine, and scooping her into a hug, before turning to me and stretching his arms out.

"I don't think so," I said, shaking my head. _I want a hug from someone, but not you. Wait. What are we celebrating_? I thought. "Tell us what's up without touching me," I said.

"Fine," he breathed, before perking up and putting his arm around Laine and his hand on Chaz's arm. He straightened up and pushed off the wall. "We have a lovely team." Nicolai informed us. Chaz shook his hand off and shot him a glance saying 'dude, stop touching me.' I tried to stifle a grin and looked confused. It worked well, because I was confused. Nicolai straightened up and looked at me like I was incompetent. "I'm partners with Laine," he stated. I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

"Got that." I said. He smiled and poked Chaz in the ribs, making him jump, yet again, while saying, "And we're working with you and the hot guy." I couldn't help the grin that broke over my face, while Chaz's eyes got wide. He turned to him and held up his hands.

"As long as you stop touching me," H said, taking a side-step closer to me, making my pulse increase slightly, and further from Nicolai, "and never call me that again." Nicolai sighed and nodded.

"I'll try, but I can't promise anything." I smiled and Laine rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm.

"C'mon, mister let's find our seats," she said, towing him away. Chaz and I followed silently. Within two steps, and my eyes on the ground, I noticed that we fell in step, even though his legs were far longer than mine. Suddenly, my heard sped up and I slightly stiffened, as I felt him lean his head down, closer to my ear. I saw his hand in front of me, pointing to Laine and Nicolai.

"I'm just curious… are they… well… you know…?" He glanced at my face. It took me a couple seconds to process what he was asking, before a grin spread across my face.

"No," I said, slightly chuckling under her breath, thinking about how much they adored each other, knowing that they would most likely be married someday.

"I think they're in denial," He whispered. I couldn't stop myself from laughing at that, seeing as how I have thought the very same thing for a very long time now. We stopped in the back-left corner of the room and Nicolai and Laine turned around, giving us questioning looks. I automatically tried to stifle my laugh and looked up at Chaz. His smile faded and he looked back at them, trying to keep a straight face.

"So... where are we sitting?" He asked. Laine glanced at me suspiciously before pointing to the back table.

"You guys are in back," she said, before sitting at the seat by the wall in front of "our" table. Nicolai smiled, poked me in the arm, and moved to sit by Laine. I stuck my foot out at the last second, making him almost fall into Laine.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, regaining balance. I shrugged and walked around the back of my new desk.

"Don't poke me," I said, sitting sideways and leaning against the wall. Chaz watched me for a second, before smiling, shaking his head. He pulled his chair out slightly and sat down, only to have it accidentally bump right up against my feet.

"Sorry!" he said, apologetically, as he laced his hands under the chair. I knew he was going to move his chair away, so I acted without thinking. I stretched my legs out, onto his lap, and stretched my arms above my head.

"Naw, its fine," I said, yawning and smiling, as I crossed my legs. I silently waited to see what he would do. In front of us I heard Laine and Nicolai, who were looking at our topic, discussing, and even arguing about what that were going to do. Chaz just looked at me and smiled. He dropped his right hand from the paper he was holding, and put it on his lap; on my legs. At his touch my heard sped up. I figured that next he was going to give me a strange look and push my legs off of him. Instead, he turned back to the paper he was holding and read our general topic, and suggestions of sub-topics. I had to admit, that I didn't really hear what all he said. My heart was still erratic at the fact that his arm was resting on my shin, and his hand on my other. I shook my head and tried to concentrate on what he was saying. Coincidentally, that's about when he stopped reading, and looked back at me.

"What do you think?" he asked. What? Uh... I have no idea. Thankfully, Nicolai turned around then, with a slightly irritated look on his face, followed by Laine. With their matching looks, I remembered what Chaz said earlier, for some reason, and tried to stifle my laughter. Chaz must've noticed, because he glanced over at me, smirking. As soon as we looked at each other we both smiled and shook our heads.


	13. Evil Galres, Evil Smiles

**Chapter 12**

**"Evil Glares, Evil Smiles"**

**Monday December 1st**

**APOV**

As we walked out of class, I departed from my new groupies, and went to my locker. I started walking to second hour, all the way in the other end of the building, and sighed. This project was going to take forever, especially with limited class time, and Laine and Nicolai not deciding on their topic.

"Hey Aiden!" I jumped as a head appeared next to mine unexpectedly, shouting my name. My books flying out of my hand. I looked down expecting to hear the books crash to the floor. But, in the last second, Chaz flew by me, catching them about ten inches before they could crash to their linoleum demise. He then turned and glared right past me. I was about to turn and look when Paul came flying by both of us, uttering apologies. I grimaced and looked back up at Chaz, who seemed to be wearing a matching expression. At the sight of each other, our looks of disgust faded, and we smiled.

"Stupid Paul." I muttered, continuing to our, sigh- _our_, our second hour. Chaz fell in step with me, slipping his arm around me. Wait. What? I looked up at him as his other arm held my books up in front of me. He was nodding and smiling, but looking straight ahead.

"Agreed," he stated, looking down at me and flashing a killer grin. "Stupid is Paul." I nodded in agreement and grabbed my books from him. I looked forward, thinking of something else to say, but nothing came to mind. That dull ache that I felt when I saw him, that pull, seemed to evaporate, and I felt myself unconsciously leaning into his side. He was so warm, so comforting... Just then I felt his arm start to pull away, and I, like I did so much these days, acted without thinking. I slipped my arm around his waist, and leaned a bit more against him. I felt him stiffen a bit, and his breath catch. I realized what I had just done, and started to pull away, when I could swear that I heard him chuckle and felt his arm tighten.

"And I have to sit by him in next, fourth and seventh hour" he said, sadly, as we neared room A2.

"Hm?" I asked, looking up at him. He looked down and smirked.

"Paul."

"Right," I said, breaking eye contact, looking like an idiot, no doubt. As I heard the warning bell echo, I stopped and looked up at him. "Not necessarily," I stated. He removed his arm and leaned against a locker. As he did so, the cold of the air around me washed over where his arm had been, replacing the heat with a chill that fought to shiver up my spine.

"I'm listening," he said, trying to appear formal. I rolled my eyes.

"One condition." He quirked and eyebrow and I did the same. After only a couple seconds his face lit up; it was like watching the light bulb go off in his head. He rolled his eyes and snickered.

"Alright," he breathed, making my heart slightly stutter, "you have a footstool." I smiled triumphantly and let him hold the door open for me.

After propping my feet up on my brand new, very comfy, very cute, very warm footstool, Paul- shutter- appeared. As he neared the middle of the right side of the room he stopped and narrowed his eyes. He came around in front of our table and leaned in it.

"Short stuff."

"Brain dead," I retaliated.

"Chaz!" Chaz stated, pointing at himself.

"Wow." I chucked and shook my head and Paul rolled his eyes.

"You're in my seat," he stated. Pshht. Like he's scary or something.

"So?"

He leaned in a bit closer, as if to intimidate me and glared.

"Find your own seat," he spat. I felt Chaz stiffen a bit, and his hand grip tighter on my leg. He turned his head and muttered something under his breath. Or, I thought it was under his breath, but Paul must've caught it, because his eyes widened a bit, and he backed up, spun on his heel, and went to sit at my former desk.

Go Chaz.

I smiled.

Stupid Paul.

* * *

CPOV

I saw Paul lean in and I fought a spasm in my back. He was glaring at her. Wait. Don't freak out, man. After all, this is Paul, your brother, your friend... But- he's glaring at _her_! Stupid friend. He was glaring at my angel, my imprint, my soul mate; whom I was just starting to talk to. He was _glaring_ at her! I felt my grip on Aiden's leg tighten. Feeling her pulse helped calm my nerves a bit.

"Find your own seat," he said, no, more like ordered. I couldn't help myself. I lowered my head and my voice for only him to hear.

"Find your own imprint." I spat. I saw his head slightly flinch back and his eyes widen with surprise. He stood up and turned on his heel to go find another seat, but not without flashing me a small smile.

My next two hours passed in a blur, with Aiden there; feet up, clinking her pen. We walked out of fourth hour and headed to our lockers before lunch. I walked to my locker and expected Aiden to keep walking. Instead she stopped right beside me and watched me open my locker. Noticing she was staring at me I turned and flashed a small, kind of embarrassed smile, and put my combination in, glancing over my shoulder a couple of times.

"Need something?" I asked, hesitantly at the mischievous grin she was wearing. She snickered and shook her head. "No offence, I don't mind you staring at me, but... the evil snickering scares me just a bit." I admitted.

"Just wanted to know your combination." she said, still grinning. I rolled my eyes.

"Right." Wait. "Should you obtaining that information scare me?" I asked, putting my book up and turning back to her, questioningly. Her smile faded and she looked away, biting her cheek, thinking.

"Hm..." She snapped her head back, suddenly, eyes twinkling, grin on her face. "We'll see." she stated, before walking off.


	14. Speak Words

**Chapter 13**

**"Speak Words"**

**Monday December 1st**

**APOV**

Right before I shut my locker, I barely saw two hands, right before they covered my eyes, obstructing my vision. My first thought was to jump straight to Chaz, but I knew the hands were too small, way too cold, and I felt a metal ring freezing itself to the side of my face; maybe permanently. I pushed the hands off of my face and spun around, glaring at my perpetrator.

"Ello' Robert." I glared, reaching up to pat him on the head. He smiled slightly before his face went dead, then his brow furred in curiosity. He leaned in a bit, analyzing me.

"Is it true?" he asked, in a whisper, as a very dazed Ander appeared by his side, iPod intact, completely not paying attention to anything.

"What would that me?" I asked, as I reached in and pulled on the white chord behind Ander's ear, popping the headphones form his ears.

"Ouuuuch! What gives??" he squealed, rubbing his ear with one hand and reaching in his pocket with the other; turning off his device, no doubt.

"Welcome to the land of the living," I beamed, before turning back to Rob and giving him a questioning look, per my previous question. He scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"You're as oblivious as Ander, here." He accused, poking Ander in the arm.

"Ouuuch! What gives??" He squealed, even louder. When neither of us answered he turned his iPod back on, pulled his hood over his head, and crossed his arms, drifting back into the land of obliviation. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back towards Rob.

"So... you gonna tell me or...?" He rolled his eyes, yet again, and pointed down the hall in the direction of Chaz.

"You and Chaz...?" My head snapped back to Rob, and my face brightened. Ok, he has my attention. He must've noticed, because he instantly started laughing.

"Wow. Nicolai wasn't kidding." He said, recovering from his laughing fit, and reaching down to mess my hair. I narrowed my eyes at him and glowered, poking him in the ribs.

"Don't do that." I said, poking him again. "Wasn't kidding about what?" Poke. "Speak." Poke. "Words." Poke.

"Ahh!" He held up his hands in surrender. "Okay! Okay!" I stopped the poking, but kept glaring. He composed himself, and opened his mouth to speak, before quickly pulling a very out-of-it Ander in front of him.

"Tell her Ander." He said, smiling. Ander reached up to pull his headphones out and looked up, surprised, muttering an 'uh, what?' Rob merely laughed. "Guess you're outta luck Aid." He said, looking down the hall. His head snapped to me and he grabbed Anders arm. "Yah, good luck, later." He said, hurriedly, before towing startled-yet-again-zombie-Ander away. His head snapped up after a couple steps. He turned a bit, and held up his free hand, extending his fingers.

"Ta?"

* * *

**CPOV**

I grabbed my bag, slinging it over my shoulder when Paul appeared by side and shut my locker for me. The smile he was wearing looked too big for his face, almost painful looking.

"I'm so proud!" he exclaimed, before engulfing me in a werewolf hug. When he finally let go I was out of breath, I opened my mouth to question him when Seth suddenly appeared, smiling as well, and slapped me on the shoulder muttering a 'congrats.'

"What'd I miss?" I asked, very confused, and being very ignored. Embry showed up just then, ruffling my hair, followed by Collin. "Is Monday solely reserved for annoying the newest dog or what?" I asked, very annoyed. Paul chuckled and pointed down the hall, towards Aiden.

"You finally made a move, bud!" he said, breaking into yet another grin and stepping forward to hug me again. I help out my hands in protest, while a chorus of 'finally' echoed around me, with all the other guys nodding their heads. I rolled my eyes.

"Lucky for you," I said, ruffling Paul's hair, "I haven't, yet." I said; outwardly smiling, internally grimacing. Paul's grin faded as his face grew hard.

"Wh... What? What do you mean?" His tone grew more aggravated as he spoke. "You've been her sidekick all morning! Not to mention, her footstool. You're talking to her and laughing. You're totally going to ask her out soon or tell her." He said, making the last statement more of an order than a general statement. I shook my head and sighed.

"I don't really know what's going on," I admitted, looking down the hall at Aiden. She was now talking to her other guy friends. She actually looked a bit perturbed. "Ooh, got to go, guys." I said, starting towards her. Paul stopped me by putting a hand on my chest, sending me a questioning glare.

"What happened, then?" He asked. I looked back at Aiden, then back at Paul.

"We're partners in first hour. Neither of us like you. We bonded. She liked my warmth, and footstools. Now, if you'll excuse me," I said, removing his hand and proceeding to Aiden.

Right before I got to her, her taller friend looked up at me, smiled, and dragged the shorter, dazed friend away. He looked a bit shocked and turned, holding up one hand.

"Ta?"


	15. Fries, Anyone

**Chapter 14  
****"Fries, Anyone"**

**Monday December 1st **

**APOV**

"Lunch?" I asked, not bothering to look up, knowing Chaz was beside me, as I watched Rob drag Ander away. I looked up and he nodded once.

As we were walking through the line, Chaz was pointing to different foods, watching my expression change from approval to grimacing. Suddenly, I felt eyes on me. I looked around, only to notice others more than I had all day. I noticed people, mostly girls, acknowledge both me and Chaz, only to turn to someone else and talk, or whisper, only to have them follow suit. Then it clicked.

Stupid people.

They were talking about _us_. Me and Chaz. Chaz and I. Him... I internally scoffed at the idea. Yet, I couldn't help but fight a few loose butterflies at the idea. Me and Chaz. If only...

"Aiden?" I looked up, only to see that I was still standing in line, in the way, and Chaz was standing just past the check-out, holding my tray. "You with us today?" He asked, chuckling. I rolled my eyes and reached for my tray, but he held it over my head, shaking his head. I growled and reached for it again. He snickered and pulled it higher.

"Chaz."

"Aiden." He said, mocking my frowning face, by pulling his face into one of his own. I crossed my arms and tried to suppress a laugh at how ridiculous he looked.

"Give me my tray." I ordered. He simply shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Aiden," he said, trying to sound official, "I simply cannot do that."

"Chaz." Suddenly his eyes grew wide and mock fear drenched his face.

"But... what if you _drop_ it??"

"Fine then." I walked past him, grabbing his unguarded tray at the last second.

"Hey!"

I ignored his and proceeded to sit down. My friends and I had no formal table, so instead of sitting at some random table, I went straight to Chaz's table where he sat with his... friends, relatives, whatever. The table was really two tables in the back of the cafeteria that were pushed together. One side of the two tables occupant's backs would face the cafeteria while the other's backs were only a few feet from the wall. The more-crowded of the two tables was pushed against the wall.

I knew exactly where Chaz usually sat, walked straight to it, sat his food down, and sat in the empty seat next to it. Thankfully his friends usually were late to lunch, because the tables were empty all but Kim and Jared, who didn't even look up to acknowledge my presence. They were all too wrapped up in... well... each other, I suppose.

"Knew where to sit." Chaz stated, sitting down and setting my tray in front of me. I nodded.

"You have a seating arrangement, don't you?" I asked, already knowing the answer. He nodded once in conformation. Just then three trays hit the table next to me and Nicolai and Laine sat down next to me, and Seth sat across from Chaz, giving both me and my friends a questioning look. "What?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Chaz. I pulled my burger up to my mouth to take a bite, but paused, mouth open, when I heard Seth speak.

"They sitting here?" He asked, obviously annoyed. Chaz, opening his coke with one hand paused, looked up and nodded once. "M'kay." He muttered, settling into eating his mound of food. I was still giving Seth a questioning glare then, without looking up from Seth, Chaz reached down, grabbed some fries, reached over, and stuck them in my half-open mouth. I nearly choked on them as a batted Chaz's hand away. He looked up and laughed.

"You got a little... something... right there." He said pointing to the food handing out of my mouth. I glared at him, picked up a fry, and stuck it straight in his ear. "Gross!" He said rubbing the grease out of his ear with a napkin and throwing the fry on Seth's tray. Which he gladly shrugged at, picked up, and ate. I groaned in disgust, burying my face in Chaz's arm. He, shaking with laughter, picked up another fry, and tried to stick it in my nose. I pushed his hand away, trying to apprehend the deep fried salt stick.

"I think no." I warned, trying to glare at him, and failing as he stuck his tongue out at me.

I heard two more trays hit the table, and looked up to see Rob and Ander sit across from Nicolai and Laine. Ander was looking down, hood pulled up, oblivious as always, but Rob was looking between me and Chaz, shaking his head and smiling.

"Told you I was right." Nicolai muttered, and Rob chuckled as Line poked him in the ribs, giving him a warning look. Chaz looked over just in time to see her poke Nicolai and jumped.

"Ah! No poking!" he pleaded, through his food, resulting in a menacing smile from Laine.

"Mistake." I said, poking him in the ribs as he made a high-pitched 'eek' sound.


	16. Shh, The Zombie Is Sleeping

**Chapter 15  
****"Shh, The Zombie Is Sleeping"**

**APOV  
****Monday December 1st**

I walked straight to the doors at the end of where C and B hall joined, leaned against the wall and slid down. I was waiting for Nicolai, Chaz by my side. I had told him that Nicolai's last class was in the end of A Hall, and he usually took forever, if not longer, getting around to leave. However, he insisted on keeping me company.

"Really," he said, sliding down next to me, "I've got nowhere I need to be."

"Nowhere?"

"An empty house and a pile of homework are so very hard to put off," he said, sarcastically, "but I guess you're worth it." I turned as he said the last part, only to see him wink at me. My stomach must've done a thousand flips in that one second. I turned my head away, praying that I wouldn't blush.

"Alright then." I said, reaching over and grabbing his hand. His eyes grew wide and he started to smile. I put my finger up, and shook it in his face to protest.

"Aht, ah, ah," I warned, "I'm just playing with your hand." I said, smiling. "Not trying to hold your hand or anything." he laughed and nodded.

"Alright then."

Just then I felt someone slide down on the other side of me. I looked over to see Ander. He pulled his legs up to his chest, laying his head on his knees, facing me. He looked at me and have me a half-hearted smile, breaking into a yawn.

"Waiting for Nick'o?" I asked, giving Chaz his hand back and picking up Anders. Ne nodded and mumbled something incoherent. I just nodded. "Really, now." I agreed, as I inspected his chipped black nail polish. I turned to glance at Chaz, only to see that he was giving me a slightly sad expression. I rolled my eyes. "No offence, but Ander has a ring." I said, spinning the metal on his little finger, and smiling. "It's much more fun."

"I'll have to remember that." he said,

* * *

Nicolai appeared about fifteen minutes later, only to find a very sleeping Ander, sprawled out on the floor, head in my lap, a very bored me, running my fingers along the edges of Chaz's carved wolf, with a very warm arm around my shoulders. Chaz looked up and saw Nicolai while holding his finger up to his mouth, with wide eyes.

"Shh, the zombie is sleeping."

"Don't look so dead," Nicolai said, nudging Ander in the head with his foot, "It's depressing." Ander mumbled another string of incoherent words and used the wall to stand up. "Life to the zombie," he said, shaking him by the shoulders. Ander swatted his hands away and squinted at him through very sleepy eyes, grumbling. "Coming over." Nicolai more stated than asked, and Ander nodded. Chaz pushed himself off of the wall and the warm space where he was, once again, was replaced by a rush of cold air. He leaned down, taking my hands and pulled me up, making sure I was steady, before letting me go.

"Well, I'll see you guys later then." Chaz said, nodding to each of us, Ander, Nicolai, then, finally, me. He flashed me a killer grin before handing me my bag off of the floor. "Bye." He walked around us and down the hall, not looking back.

I didn't realize that I was still staring after him until Ander put a hand on my shoulder. I looked at him in the half-awake eyes.

"Stop staring at the guy's back jean's pockets," he muttered. I rolled my eyes, and walked out the doors.


	17. Fritos

**Chapter 16  
****"Fritos"**

**Monday December 1st**

**APOV**

I plopped down on Nicolai's bed, letting Ranger hop up and lay in my lap like a hundred pound Chihuahua.

"So, you and Chaz, huh?" Ander asked, lying down in front of me. Ranger rolled off of my lap and lay in-between me and Ander, putting his head on the pillow next to his. I quirked an eyebrow at the question, opening my mouth to speak, but someone beat me to it. More like some_thing_, actually. A bag of fritos came flying at him from the door, barely missing his head.

"Shh, we don't talk about it, remember?" Laine hissed, as she stepped up onto the bed, over Ander, and sat down next to me.

"Thank you," I said, smiling. I hugged her, and kissed her temple, before turning to her wide-eyed. "And where have you been? I haven't seen you all day!" I complained. She laughed and reached past me for the fritos bag.

"Of course not, you were too busy seeing Chaz." I poked her in the arm and stole the fritos bag.

"So much for not talking about it." I muttered, opening the bag of chips.

"Ok," Nicolai said, lifting up Anders Legs and setting them in his lap as he sat under them, Next to Laine. "Since we're talking about it, what's going on?" He asked. Laine shot him a look, grabbing the bag of fritos from my hand, and whacked Nicolai in the head with them.

"Hey!" She rolled her eyes.

"It was a joke, dummy; we really aren't talking about it." I rolled my eyes and reached for the bag in her hand, but Nicolai grabbed it first. He pulled a handful of chips out and threw them on Laine's head.

"I'm not the one who brought it up. Besides, I'm her friend, I think I deserve to know." he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Doesn't matter!" she exclaimed, grabbing the bag form his hand, crinkling the plastic, and whacked him with it again. "We promised not to talk about it. If she wanted to talk, she would." I rolled my eyes again. Stupid fight. Stupid questions. Just give me the stupid chips. I was about to open my mouth and ask for them, when Nicolai grabbed the bag from her again, forcefully, crushing it more.

"We're friends! We're entitled to know what's going on!" he said, dumping more chips on her head, before she grabbed it, crushing it even more.

"What if she doesn't want your opinions?" she spat. "Maybe you should stop weaseling into others business!" She retaliated, whacking him with it again. I winced. The poor chips were being crushed. Nicolai snatched the bag from her hand, crumpling plastic, and yelling more words, before Laine snatched it back, crushing the bag and retaliating.

Crumple.

"No, Lay!"

Crinkle.

"Yes, Nicolai!"

Crunch.

"No Laine-o-lie!"

Crackle.

"ENOUGH!!" I yelled, holding my hand out, openly grimacing. The two stared at me with wide eyes, frozen in place, giving me unsure glances. I scoffed and clenched my fist, extending my index finger towards the crumpled bag of their deceased victims, that they were both clutching. I drew in an angry, ragged breath before speaking again.

"Give. Me. The chips."


	18. Calls to the Undead

**Chapter 17  
"Calls to the Undead"  
Monday December 1st**

**CPOV**

I dropped onto the couch letting my bad find its way to the floor itself. It took me several minutes of just lying there, staring at my ceiling to realize that I was home. I must've been zoned out the entire ride home. No! Not a ride home, I drove home! _Not safe, man, not safe at all. _I thought. There should be a law that prohibits imprinted teenage werewolves from driving by themselves… or at all, whichever. I would've blamed Aiden, had it not been for the face of me _blaming _Aiden. She had done nothing wrong. It was my entire stupid fault. I'm not sure how involuntarily mutating into a giant dog against my will was my fault, but I couldn't blame Aiden for being my imprint, now could I?

* * *

"Hello?" The voice that answered the phone sounded vaguely familiar, but not at all like Seth.

"Uh… Is Seth there?" I asked, hesitantly.

"No… but Ander is." The voice perked up. Wait. Ander?

"Ander? Seriously?" I was actually happy to hear it was him; confused, but happy.

"Maybe," he said, sounding curious, "It depends on who is happy to hear my voice."

"It's Chaz."

"Oh! Well then yes, this is Ander. The Amazing. How are you?"

"Oh… um… good."

"Good as in actually good, or just your generic answer?" I glanced at the clock. It was 7:49. I really should be calling Seth to find out when I had patrol tonight, but I didn't want to be rude.

"Good as in alright, a little iffy, it's more just ok than good; less than fine, but significantly better than an un-heartfelt generic answer, of course. You don't sound like a zombie anymore."

"I took Excedrin; my headache is on vacation for a bit. So, uh, why are you calling Nicolai's house?" Oh, he had a headache. So that's why he was dead all day.

"I _thought_ I was calling Seth's new number, but I guess he was mistaken when he wrote it."

"Right, mistaken, I'm surprised he didn't mistakenly give you Aiden's number," he said, chuckling.

"…Why would you say that?"

"Oh, I heard Paul say something about doing that earlier today." He said, matter-of-factly. "But, he didn't know I was listening." I could hear the smile in his voice. "I didn't even have to hide or anything. …I'm like an invisible ninja!" I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Right, because no one notices the dead kid lying in the middle of the hallway."

"Hey! I only missed _half_ of third hour!" He protested.

"Right."

"So if you want to mistakenly call- the number its seven… four… five…"

"What? I cut him off. "What are you talking about?" He scoffed at me.

"Please, don't even _try_ to give me that." I sighed. "Don't try to act like you don't care, because I know that you do. Your breath trying to protest will only be wasted."

"I am not taking advice from zombie boy."

"Fine then!" he said, a bit aggravated at the zombie statement. "Go mistakenly call someone else, and _I'll _call Aiden." I involuntarily choked on an intake of breath, and heard Ander snicker.

"I heard that." I sighed again.

"Okay. Okay. "

"Wait… what are you admitting?" I thought for a minute, but couldn't remember.

"I… I'm not sure." I confessed. "I sort of… this is embarrassing… choked up when you said her name." I covered my hand over my face, even though he couldn't see me. That was embarrassing to admit to one of her best friends. I waited; hand over my eyes, expecting him to say something, but nothing came. After about forty seconds I spoke up.

"Ander?" he spoke as soon as I did.

"Say her name." It was a different tone to Ander's voice; slightly cautious, slightly curious. It scared me a bit.

"What? …Why?"

"…Say her name." It was only one simple word, but I was a bit afraid. I took a deep breath.

"Aiden."

"Ew."

"What?"

"You say it all full of _care _and _adoration_." He said, exaggerating his words. "It's sickening." He stated, plainly. This conversation was getting a bit awkward, I was about to tell him I had to go, when he suddenly started talking again. "So… What are you doing, bud? It sounds like a blast." He said, sarcastically. The only noise around was the sound of me drumming my fingers against the wall, or scuffing my foot against the carpet as I thought.

"Nothing." I stated, honestly.

"Nothing?"

"Breathing."

"Wow! Fun!"

"-and homework."

"More fun!" I rolled my eyes.

"Mock enthusiasm, and enthusiastic sarcasm aren't appreciated here."

"Here being…?"

"My house." I said, looking around the small living room. _More of a home than I've ever had, though it's a bit empty. _I thought.

"Your cousin's house right?" He asked. "Sam Uley?"

"No."

"…Ultera?" I shook my head.

"No, no. Right name, right cousin, wrong house." I said. "But close."

"How close?"

"My driveway." I said, smiling.

"Wow. …You live alone?"

"Yep."

"You should get a pet or something, you sound lonely." Like what kind of animal would I get- a cat? That would _not_ go over well.

"I think there are a couple of spiders under my sink."

"No." he said, sadly. "Like a dog." I covered up the mouthpiece with my hand as fast as I could, and barked out a laugh. No pun intended.

"Yeah." I said, trying to stifle a laugh. "Maybe."

"What? You aren't a dog person?"

"Oh, I'm a dog person." I said, covering up the mouthpiece again to laugh. Again, no pun intended. Not that he understood it anyway. I glanced at the clock then, seeing the time. I really did need to call Seth. "Well. I have to go, nice talking to you Ander."

"Right; got to get back to your spiders." He said, sarcastically.

"Sure, sure."

"Alright, later." He said, before clicking off the phone.


	19. Deletion

**Chapter 18  
"Deletion"**

**Tuesday December 2nd**

**APOV**

I tried to keep my eyes from opening with no avail. My lids fluttered open before quickly squinting shut at the burst of light from my window. I rubbed my eyes with the back of my fists, trying to get the blurriness to subside so that I could read my clock; five-oh-two in the morning??

I groaned and rolled over, pulling the covers over my head and trying to fall back into dreamland, but had no luck in the matter. I tossed and turned for twenty minutes before giving up the fantasy that was sleep, and throwing off the covers. I lay there, letting the cold wash over me, and slightly wake me up, before actually getting up and around.

I stumbled into my bathroom and washed up, taking my time. I brushed my teeth for so long that the foamy white toothpaste tinted slightly pink, and brushed my hair so many times that my hair had so much static-charge, it could power my blow-drier. I put some smoothing cream on my hair and left my bathroom.

I opened my closet, tapping my finger to my chin.

"What to wear, what to wear…" I thought, out loud, staring at the scarcity that was my closet. I needed to do laundry… "Later," I said, pulling random clothing from my shelf. I changed about a dozen times, before settling on what to wear.

I settled on a pair of grey and black camouflage pants and a black and yellow _Killswitch Engage_ t-shirt. I slipped on socks and a pair of converse before heading over to my dresser. I bent down and started at the few boxes on top of my dresser holding random pieces of jewelry and such.

"What do you have for me?" I asked, the boxes, as I picked through them. I rooted around in them, searching for anything interesting. My thumb ring was clicking against random pieces of metal and plastic as I dug through the largest little box. My finger poked something soft, and I pulled it out; two black wrist warmers. "Perfect." I said, leaning sown and quickly kissing the box. After slipping on a studded belt and my favorite chain-link necklace, I got my bag out from under my bed and grabbed the hooded sweatshirt that was hanging on my door.

Just then, Ranger pushed my door open with his nose and looked at me, expectantly.

"What?" I asked, knowing what he wanted. He wagged his tail, ears perked, and spun in a circle. "Tell me what you want, baby." He stopped and barked at me once. I laughed and nodded. "Okay, I'll let you outside. " At that word his ears perked again and his tail began wagging furiously. "Go upstairs." I said, and he turned and ran out of my room.

I dumped the grapefruit peel in the garbage and put my bowl in the sink, rinsing it off. I leaned against the counter, looking at the clock and sighing. It was only seven. I contemplated doing the dishes, or laundry… Yawn …Or going to bed. Instead, I did something completely crazy. I put my hoodie on, slung my bag over my head, and proceeded to school; an entire _hour_ early.

* * *

I rearranged the pictures on the inside of my locker, and Nicolai's, and stole some from Laine's. I finished my homework for sixth period, came up with six different approaches for our report in first hour, and accomplished saying my ABC's backwards in less than seven seconds. …And it was barely seven thirty.

Suddenly, a body slid down beside me, resting their head on my shoulder. A fuzzy version of Flyleaf's song "All around Me" floated into my ear and I knew who it was, without looking. I lay my head on top of his and yawned, trying to decipher where the song was at. The music abruptly stopped, and I felt him sigh.

"Sleep much?" I asked.

"No." He mumbled.

"Seriously??" I didn't believe that. He simply moaned, and nestled his head further into my shoulder, whimpering.

"My head hurts." I scoffed.

"And listening to music helps?" I asked.

"Well… no…" I sighed and patted his head.

"What are we going to do with you, child?" I said, shaking my head.

"Give me coffee." He said, sadly. "And stop yelling."

"I wasn't yelling." I whispered.

"Sorry," he moaned. "My head hurts." He said, again.

"Only a few more days, babe." I reassured him. I reached off and lifted his head up a bit, and pulled his hood off, as he put his music away, and pulled his knees to his chest. As I was absent-mindedly running my fingers through his silky golden hair, he fell asleep.

* * *

All of a sudden, there was a bright flash, making both me and half-asleep Ander jump. Ander pulled his hood back over his head, groaning, and wrapping his arms around his legs. I looked up to see a laughing Nicolai, and a smiling Laine, who was holding her camera.

"One for the scrapbook." She said, winking. I got up and helped Ander to his feet and, once again, groaned, and leaned town to put his head on my shoulder. Laine's smile faded and she patted Ander's head. "Headache hasn't gotten better, huh?" she asked, sympathetically. When he didn't reply, she looked at me, and I shook my head.

"Sad sight," Nicolai said, poking Ander in the shoulder, "Sad sight, indeed. Ander batted his arm away and mumbled something to him. Apparently, what he said didn't make Nicolai very happy, because he complained to Laine saying something like: "He's not being very nice," in a childish voice. I laughed and shook my head.

My head suddenly snapped to the right, looking down the hallway as I heard Quil and Paul talking loudly. I scanned the hallway, not seeing who I wanted to and felt a little disappointed. Of course, I mentally beat myself up for this. What was I _doing_? _I am not falling for Chaz_. I'm not. Then, Embry walked around the corner, Chaz in tow. I quickly averted my eyes. I only saw him for a fraction of a second, but the hole in my chest eased, filling my head with a flighty feeling, as memories of yesterday flashed through my head. A bright flash once again made me jump. I rubbed my eyes and snapped my head forward again.

"Chaz must be here." Nicolai said, chuckling at the camera that Laine was holding. She looked up, saw me glaring and smiled shyly. She opened her moth to speak, but Nicolai beat her to it. "You get this goofy dreamy look when you see him." He said matter-of-factly. I turned my glare to him, then back to her. She offered another shy smile and turned the camera around for me to see. My eyes grew wide from shock. _Did I really look like that?_ My eyes flickered between her and her camera.

"Delete it." She retracted her camera, and her eyes grew almost as wide as mine.

"Never!" Nicolai exclaimed, as Laine smiled and threw the camera to him.

"Nicolai." I said, sweetly, as I stepped closer to him, cautiously. He was clutching the camera to his chest, looking over his shoulder at me. He shook his head like a little kid murmuring 'no' over and over. I reached for it, but he held it over my head, and smiled.

"Nope." He said, popping the 'p.' I glared. _Fine then_. I put my hand on his other arm and reached up for the camera, waving my hand, like I was struggling to attain it. When he was distracted with that, I used my thumb and two fingers to pop off the face-plate of his watch, and in one fluid movement, slip it under my wrist warmer.

When it was safely hidden I backed away from him, glaring, acting mad about the camera. Which, I was; but now I had some leverage. I smiled internally, outwardly glaring at him, then Laine.

"Fine," I breathed, turning on my heel and walking away. When I was about half way down the hall I heard it.

"Ai-den!!" Oh No. He sounded angry. I looked over my shoulder to see him approaching, rather fast, looking, yes, very angry. I did the first thing that popped into my head. Almost instinctively, I found Chaz. I ran about ten steps to his locker. Before I even reached him he looked over his shoulder. When he saw me he spun around, looking a bit worried. He opened his mouth to speak, but, before he could, I ducked behind him.

I can't explain why it is that I ran to this particular person. It just felt right. When someone looks like they are about to start chasing you, your first instinct is to run. The first instinctive place is to run somewhere safe. I had no notion of why, but when the first bit of adrenaline kicked in, the only thought I had was Chaz. I grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and buried my face in his back. Safe. That is the only way to describe how I felt. I felt Chaz draw in a ragged breath, and realized what I was doing. I let go of his shirt, grabbing his sides, and peering out from behind him.

"Everything alright?" Chaz asked. I knew it was Chaz who was speaking. I could feel his deep voice resonate through his frame. But, this voice that came out of him, didn't sound like the voice that I recognized. This voice was harder, almost restrained. It wasn't the pleasing, warm voice that I associated with the dazzling smile and deep eyes that was Chaz.

"Yeah, man, it's all good." Nicolai said, laughing. Chaz did not laugh back. Nicolai's smile faded, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Aid? C'mon." I most certainly did not want to move, but forced myself, against my better judgment, to step out from behind Chaz. I chuckled and nodded at Nicolai, not bothering to look at Chaz.

"Delete the picture." I said, being serious for a second, before smiling again, "And we'll be fine." I stated, looking up at Chaz. I knew I shouldn't, but I couldn't stop myself. He was looking down at me. OInce his eyes met mine, a grin spread across his face, and he nodded, looking back at Nicolai.

"So…?" Nicolai frowned and crossed his arms.

"No fair. He can't take sides." Chaz chuckled and slid his arm around my shoulders.

"Too late." My heartbeat accelerated, and a smile appeared on my face.

"So…?" I offered. Nicolai rolled his eyes.

"Alright, alright." He breathed. I smiled triumphantly and looked up at Chaz, who, although looking confused, look pleased with his choice of sides. "Then we'll be good?" I shook my head.

"No, we're good now." I said, reaching up and patting his head. He laughed and leaned down, pecking my forehead. I felt Chaz stiffen beside me and I froze in place, eyes growing wide. Nicolai laughed and shook his head, and rolled his eyes. But I just stood there, mock shock drenching my face. I started to make my hands shake, and I felt Chaz step closer to me.

"Aiden?" Chaz asked, from behind me, sounding a little worried, "Are you ok?"


	20. Carry Me, I'm Just A Dead Man

**Chapter 19**

"**Carry Me, I'm just A Dead Man"  
CPOV  
Tuesday December 2**

"Ew!" she shrieked "He _kissed_ me!!" she grimaced, faking the drama a little too much. She spun around and draped her hand over her eyes before falling into my arms laughing. I was utterly shocked. My arms burned with intensity as soon as they made contact with her. All my fear and anxiety washed away. I thought my emotions were going to explode out of the ends of my fingers and toes, and come shooting out of my ears, I was so happy.

Did that actually happen? Was she really in my arms? Did I care what happened? No, I did not care. All that mattered was that I was here with her, Aiden, my angel. I was finally holding her in my arms.

Suddenly, her eyes flew open after she removed the hand form her eyes; she was smiling. I couldn't help but smile back at her. Was she beaming happiness or was it just me? I didn't know, but it did know that it felt right. It felt so unbelievably right. The pressure on my chest shattered and the longing was suppressed. I felt whole. In this moment, with her in my arms, gazing straight into her dazzling eyes, I felt whole.

Nicolai shattered the moment, clearing his throat. I tore my gaze from her, seeing him tap his watch. This informed me time did, in fact, exist, Dang. We were probably going to be late to class. I knew this, my head knew this, but my heart wouldn't listen. My head tried to tell my arms to let her go, but my heart was being greedy. It would not release her. It was tearing apart at the thought of letting her go... I looked back down to Aiden. She was looking at me puzzled, still smiling, and tapping her foot.

"Are you going to let me go any time soon?" Either my heart was doing things to my eyes, or she looked a little sad at this statement. "We're… going to be late to class." she informed me, smiling. I tried. I tried to release her, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I sighed internally as I studied her face.

"Only if you want me to," I said, honestly. Wait. Did I just say that? Ugh. I sound pathetic.

"You could carry me to class, if you wanted to." she said, brightening up, and laughing at herself. This made my face light up, and my chest burst with happiness. Whether she meant it or not, I didn't care. I quickly scooped her legs up and spun her around twice before stopping and to read her face. It looked slightly shocked, and... Happy? Really?

I hadn't expected this. Of all the scenarios I had thought of where I finally got to hold her, this was not on the list, but in no way was I complaining. I felt her relax and snuggle up to my chest; it made my heart explode inside of me.

"Mmm," she slightly moaned. "You're so warm." I could have sworn I heard he start to hum the song "Dead Man" by Jars of Clay… or it could have been my imagination…

We reached homeroom and started to walk in, realizing the stares we would get, I put her gently on the ground, trying hard to fight bursting into millions of pieces at the realization of not being in contact with her anymore. She started walking towards her table that was, oh so, far away from mine. I stiffened and focused on breathing steadily while taking a step towards my table.

She startled me by turning around and grabbing my hand, stopping me. Every cell that was in contact with hers, screamed out with burning joy. My eyes shifted from our hands, to her eyes. They locked on hers and refused to let go, content to watch her eyes change emotion for the rest of eternity. She broke out gaze by cocking her head and raising her eyebrow.

"No…" was all she said, and began pulling me over to another desk. She motioned towards a chair, and sat on the other side of it. I stared at her, uncomprehending.

She chuckled at my incompetence before mock seriousness fell over her face. She pointed to the chair again, acting like she demanded authority over the seating arrangements. Her face couldn't hold it much longer. Her lips twisted up into a perfect smile.

"Sit." she said, simply. I could do nothing but listen to the angel in front of me. Though, I didn't understand, I would do anything for her. I would sit, roll over, play catch- I stopped myself there. No more dog references.

I sat in the chair, and looked over at her. Finally it hit me. _Duh!_ Project, right, focus. She looked my face over. It took her only a second to analyze my expression. She just laughed and shook her head. She leaned over, looping her arms around mine, and cuddled into my side. I froze and drew in a ragged breath.

"I'm freezing. You're really warm," she stated. "…and kind of cute too," she added, poking her abdomen with her index finger and turning her head back around. I suddenly realized that there was no one else in the room. Wait. I thought we were late. I did enter room B5. Didn't I? My brain was so confused, it hurt trying to dissect this situation.

"_Maybe we really did make time stop_" I thought suddenly.

Aiden turned to the side and lifted her feet onto my lap, like yesterday and smiled, with her face full of contentment. She crossed her legs and stretched her hands over her head, cracking her knuckles and yawning. I was still confused as to the lack of life forms in the room, and why the bell wasn't ringing, when Mr. M walked in, whistling a tune that I didn't recognize. He set his coffee mug on his desk and sat down. As he did so, he looked up and caught sight of Aiden and I. ...Me and Aiden... Us... _I like how that sounds..._

"Oh! Hello kids." He beamed, yawning and checking his watch, "I didn't expect anyone to be in class yet, you've still got about fifteen minutes till class starts." He looked up and smiled. "Did you really miss me that much?" He laughed. "Or are you just excited to work on your project?" Aiden laughed and shook her head.

"So excited." Aiden said, sarcastically. I was still confused. If we were _so_ early... then why was Nicolai telling me that we were late... Or was he telling me that we were late…? Then I remembered how strange the circumstance in the hallway was. I turned to Aiden.

"Why were you hiding from Nicolai if he was the one who was apologizing?" She laughed at that and poked me in the arm.

"You didn't notice that when you took my side." She said, smiling. I quirked an eyebrow, very confused, slightly curious. She shook her head and sighed.

"Okay," she breathed, "I'll explain." I grinned, and playfully poked her in the arm. Her smile disappeared, and her eyebrow quirked. This frightened me a bit. She shook her head once and nodded in the direction of my hand.

"Don't poke me." _WHAT??_ I looked her face over, waiting for her serious cover to fade, with no luck. Not even the slightest bit of change. My face fell.

"Oh... um... I'm sorry...Its just... Your friends poke each... and... uh..." I sounded like an idiot. I looked like an idiot. Danged. Suddenly, she smiled and reached her hand up ruffling my hair.

"Its okay," she said. "Now... where was I..." Man, this girl confuses me. I was not expecting that. Sigh. _Keep it together, man, keep it together._ "Oh! Right! Nicolai took a horrible picture of me," she said, wrinkling her nose. _No such thing_. I thought. "-and wouldn't delete it." she said, annoyance washing over her face. I internally laughed. _I'm glad he didn't._ "So I stole the faceplate of his watch."

"How?" She simply laughed aty my questioning.

"He's had that watch for years. This old leather band with a place for a faceplate to snap in. It came with a couple different watches, but he lost all but one. He loves that thing." She explained. "But its not that hard to pop the faceplate off." She said, smiling. "-and since he wouldn't delete the picture-" _Which he shouldn't-_ "-I decided to get some leverage. He deletes the picture-" _Never!_ "-and I give him his precious watch back." She was grinning deviously.

"That's horrible."

"I know." She said, trying to look sad. "I'm horrible." Her mask broke and she laughed. "So horrible!" She said, too overly dramatic. I rolled my eyes. "But it got me what I wanted, so I think its ok," She said, laughing. Suddenly, I got an idea. _We'll see about that. _I apologized, and got up from my seat, excusing myself to my locker. Her legs fell onto my empty chair with a thud.

"Hey!" She called after me, as I was about to the door. I looked over my shoulder. "Could you ask Laine to get my notebook out of my locker?" She asked, sweetly.

"Of course." _As if I could say no._


	21. Digitally Transfixed

**Chapter 20  
****"Digitally Transfixed"  
Tuesday December 2nd **

**CPOV**

I found Nicolai and Laine without a problem; standing in a circle with various people, laughing, and talking about probably nothing important. I grabbed them both my the arms and pulled them backwards a few feet. They both spun on their heels, obviously expecting someone else, because their generically happy faces opened with surprise once their eyes landed on me.

"Hey man." Nicolai said, glancing around. "Where's Aiden."

"Doesn't matter." I said, waving my hand. Laine opened her mouth but I cut her off. "Can I see your camera?" Nicolai barked out a laugh and Laine grinned, and shook her head.

"Why?" She asked. Nicolai patted me on the shoulder, well, more like the arm, and chuckled.

"Well, I've got an idea of how you can keep your picture," I said, looking at Laine, "but you can get your watch back." I said, turning to Nicolai.

"I'm listening." They said, simultaneously. I grinned.

"Get your camera and meet me at my locker." I said, turning to walk away, before I remembered something. "Oh, and Laine?" I turned to see her stopped mid-step, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah?"

"Aiden asked for you to get her notebook form her locker so… could you?" She rolled her eyes and nodded.

I dug my camera out of my bag and pressed the power button, hoping it would turn on. Thankfully, I had almost full battery. Laine appeared then, giving me a questioning look. I held out my hand, asking for her camera. She looked at me, then her camera. She went to speak, but I held up my index finger in protest.

"Trust me." I said, smiling. She rolled her eyes and handed me the small silver device. "Thank you." I said, before turning to the cameras. I held my camera under my arm as I opened up hers and popped the memory card out. I then took mine out, set it and her camera on the shelf, and put the small blue chip into my sleek, black device. "Which picture?" I asked, powering it up. Laine held out her hand.

"May I?" I nodded and handed him over. She smiled as she shuffled through the pictures. I stepped to the side, and looked over her shoulder at the images on the screen. I saw several shots of people I didn't know. Finally, there was a picture of Aiden kissing a bag of Fritos, then Aiden and Ander asleep, leaning on each other in the hallway. I laughed at both, before she moved onto the next picture, making my laugh catch in my throat.

It wasn't just any picture, it was a picture of Aiden. She looked amazing. No, the word amazing doesn't even describe it. Laine held the camera up, offering it to me. I grabbed it, just staring at the screen, perplexed. She was absolutely beautiful. Her hair fell in the perfect way, her eyes were shimmering and her mouth was pulled into the most beautifully subtle smile. She looked so peaceful and happy. I was so glad that I got to see this, I never wanted to look away….

I suddenly realized that I was transfixed on a picture of Aiden, when I could be with her right now. I snapped out of my awe-struck state and clicked a few buttons before finding the right one. The camera made a twinkling sound and the message "Copied to Camera" appeared on the screen. Now the picture was mine forever. I smiled and turned off the camera, putting the right cards in their rightful owners, before handing Laine her camera back.

"Done." I said, beaming. She took the camera cautiously, staring at me. I looked up to see Nicolai with the same look washed over his face. "What?" I asked, but neither answered. They just stood there, giving me worried stares. "Wha-aaaat?"

"Dude…" Nicolai offered. _Yes, I am a dude. Thank you for clarifying_.

"Dude?" I asked, annoyed. What was wrong with these people.

"Yeah…" Laine affirmed. What the muffin?

"What's wrong?" I asked, highly confused, annoyed, and then some. Nicolai seemed to break out of the trance first. He grabbed my arm and elbowed Laine. She too stopped staring at me, shook her head, and shut my locker for me, as Nicolai dragged me off down the hall. We passed the classroom, and kept walking.

"What… where… Ah?" _Help? _


	22. No Avail

**Chapter 21  
"No Avail"  
Tuesday December 2nd**

**CPOV**

Nicolai grabbed Ander's arm as we passed him, before walking straight to the doors at the end of B Hall and C hall, and outside, into the cold. I should have protested, but trying to be nice to Aiden's confusing friends, I did as I was told, and followed.

"I'm sorry," Nicolai breathed. My head shot up and saw that he was instead facing Ander. Ander smiled and bowed. He looked Nicolai in the face and beamed.

"Say it." Nicolai shook his head furiously.

"No."

"Say it."

"I said I was sorry," he whined. But still Ander did not look pleased.

"Say it." Nicolai sighed heavily.

"Okay… You are awesome-er than I." Nicolai breathed out, half-heartedly.

"Why are you apologizing, admitting your un-awesome-ness, and, most importantly, what does any of it have to do with me?" I whined. They both seemed to blow me off, as they turned to Laine. Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head furiously as well.

"No way." She protested. Ander and Nicolai both have her meaningful looks. She sighed heavily and muttered, "Oh Ander, you are so very awesome," while rolling her eyes.

"Hello?" I asked, heavily annoyed at the fact of being ignored. "Can I go back inside now?"

"No," they all said, simultaneously, snapping their heads in my direction, making my jump.

"Why?" I asked, pouting. I wasn't cold, I didn't care about being late to class, and I didn't have to use the bathroom. I wanted to go back to Aiden. I missed her. I realized how pathetic I sounded, but I didn't care. No one was in there protecting her! She could be getting harassed by some guy or… Or having a seizure and no one would be there to protect her! _How exactly do you plan on 'protecting' her from a seizure? _I'm going to kill the little voice in my head. It doesn't even know. It. Doesn't. Even. Know.

"What is the purpose of this?" I asked, highly annoyed. "Do I have to admit that Ander is more awesome than I, too? Okay. Ander, you're awesome, you're amazing, brilliant and wonderful. You must be a descendant of the gods. I would worship the ground that you walk on, if it didn't violate my religious beliefs, and if I were a girl, and anyone but Aiden, I would marry you. Happy? Can I go back inside now?" By now, they were all hysterically laughing at my little rant. Ander recovered and pointed at me, eyes wide.

"Did any of you catch that?" He exclaimed, smiling broadly. "Hah! I called it! I'm still awesome!" Nicolai rolled his eyes.

"We all heard it." He said, dryly. Suddenly Laine's eyes grew wide.

"But, did _he_?" She asked, looking at them, pointing at me.

"I'm leaving." I said, proceeding back towards the doors.

"Wait!" Ander called. I sighed and spun back around.

"What?" I breathed, annoyed, aggravated, and slightly shaking.

"I'll tell you."

"You had better." He held up his hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay. So, remember our little conversation last night?" I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, you think I should get a dog." I said, dryly. It was much funnier last night… Or maybe I was just mad that they were holding me outside, against my will, and away from my imprint. He shook his head.

"No, the _other_ part." I searched my memory, but found nothing. I shook my head.

"I don't know what you're getting at, sorry." I said, honestly. He chuckled and rolled his eyes. He held his hand up to his ear, making it look like a phone and gestured to me.

"I'm not doing that."

"Just _do_ it." He breathed.

"Fine," I said, holding my hand up to my face, looking like an idiot, no doubt.

"Say it."

"You're awesome?" he sighed heavily.

"No!" Now he was the mad one? No, _I_ got to be the mad one. "Last night, on the phone, what did you say?" I dropped my hand and furred my brow, staring at him, trying to remember… Then it clicked. Oh. I sighed a shallow sigh and breathed out her name, trying to make it sound as normal as possible.

"Aiden…" His face lit up and he pointed at me excitedly.

"You see??" He exclaimed, looking at his friends. "Did you _hear_ that?" He breathed. I looked to Nicolai and Laine. They were wearing matching smug faces.

"Mhm." Laine murmured. I rolled my eyes.

"You're making fun of the way I say her name again? What, next are you going to make fun of the way I say potato?" Laine tried to stifle a laugh with no avail, and Nicolai shook his head.

"Not making fun; pointing out." He said, smugly. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm still confused." I admitted. Laine sighed a sympathetic sigh and came to my side. She patted my arm caringly, biting her lip.

"You admitted that you wouldn't want Aiden to date Ander." She stated.

"You say that as if you had some great valid point in that regard." I said, dryly.

"You see… we've… um…" She was stumbling over her words, thinking too hard, and looking at her friends for support. I moaned in frustration.

"You've fallen in love with Aiden. We thought you should know." Nicolai said, ctrying to keep a straight face, with no avail, and breaking into a grin. I shook my head, speaking before I thought.

"Yeah, I _know_ that. Anything else you want to _not_ inform me of?" Oh no. I just said that out loud? Crap. I looked up to see three shocked faces staring at me.

"I was… kidding…" A stunned Nicolai fumbled over his words, nervously, "We thought you… were… interrested in her maybe... but… um... you're kidding…" He gave me a questioning glance, followed by his two curious friends.

"Nope. Not kidding. Totally smitten. Head over heels. In love. I'm going to class." I stated, trying to sound as calm and flat as possible. …With no avail.

"You're not kidding!" Nicolai shouted. I put my head in my hands and groaned.

"That was _supposed_ to sound like _sarcasm_." I said, muffled through my hands. I shook my head, trying to clear it. _This cannot be happening_. _I did not just say those things. This is not happening. I'm going to open my eyes and they will not be here. This is not happening. _I opened my eyes to see Laine giving me a compassionate look, Nicolai still staring at me wide-eyed, and Ander giving me a huge, slightly creepy smile.

"I can't belive you're falling for Aiden." He chuckled, shaking his head. I looked away, trying to hide my blush, and frustration. "Dude, you're totally smitten." he said, laughing yet again.

"I'm going to class now." I huffed, turning on my heel, and walking away. After the doors had closed and I was walking down the emptying hallway, way out of human earshot, I heard Nicolai outside, finally speak up.

"That's… that's… AWESOME!!" He wasn't joking; his voice was one hundred percent ecstatic. _Oh yeah_, I thought, _it's fantastic._


	23. Internal Voices

**Chapter 22  
"Internal Voices"  
Tuesday December 2nd **

**APOV**

I tapped my pen against the desk sporadically, trying to come up with a rhythm, and failing. I glanced at the clock again; then the door. Nothing. _Dang. _No, I was not nervous or anticipating anything. I was worried. Yes, _worried_. Shut up. I am not going crazy. It is perfectly ethical to be worried by this point. He said he was just going to his locker to grab his book, and my notebook. It's been forever! Alright, so, it's only been about twelve minutes, but _still_.

I shook my head and wrung my fingers nervously. _Stop freaking out!_ My head was trying to calm me down. _You're totally obsessing!_ Not helping. I glanced back at the clock. Thirty seconds till warning bell. I sighed. Maybe I should go looking for him… _No, he's __fine__! Stop freaking out. Gandhi, get yourself together. _Right. Together. I can do that. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, clearing my head. Alright, sometimes the voice _is_ right.

I heard the warning bell, and opened my eyes, side-glancing at the door. I jumped back in surprise, and my heart accelerated twice over. I took another deep breath, clearing my head, trying to get my blood to pump any slower.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you…" He said, meekly, looking down and rubbing his hand along the back of his neck. I sighed a smile and waved my hand, as if saying to forget about it.

"No, its fine. I'm glad you're back, finally." I smiled. _You sound like an idiot. Stop speaking._ You're annoying. Stop thinking. Oh… wait… _You apparently already did that. Hah! _

"Yeah…?" He looked up at me, and his sullen face slightly turned to a warm smile for a few seconds. Then, his eyes dulled, and smile disappeared. He folded his arms on the table, resting his head in them, and sighed.

"Are… Are you alright?" I asked, looking him over. He was hunched over the desk, laying his head on his forearms. He was all warm and happy last time I saw him. Now he was acting tired… dead… What could have happened in the last thirteen minutes that changed his mood so much?_ Now he looks like Ander… _

"Hm?" He mumbled, turning his head to the side so that he was looking at me. I looked his face over. He didn't look tired or dead. He looked… distraught.

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked. Without thinking, I had reached out to him, putting the back of my hand to his forehead. I could have sworn that I saw his eyes light back up for a fraction of a second, but I couldn't be sure, because I recoiled instantly, grabbing my hand with my other. Dang!! "Wow! You _are_ hot!" I said; shocked at how warm he was. His face seemed to light back up at this, highly amused. He snickered and sat up, leaning in close to my ear. My heartbeat sputtered erratically.

"Why, thank you." He said; as his voice was even lower, even deeper and even huskier than normal, with even a slight suggestive tone to it. I felt his warm breath fan across my ear and fought chills, as I swore my heart was trying to mimic an ancient African tribal beat.

The clearing of a throat made both of our heads snap forward. Chaz pulled away from me, smile fading, and lowered his gaze once again, clearing his own throat. Laine laughed and dropped my notebook on the table before sitting down.

"We should get started on our projects." Nicolai said, smiling, as he sat down as well. He leaned over and whispered something in Laine's ear making her laugh again. She peered over her shoulder at Chaz before whispering something back. Nicolai appeared to appreciate or agree with her, because I could see him bobbing his head in agreement. _Did I miss something?_ Yeah, a whole thirteen minutes.

* * *

The rest of first hour passed, for lack of a better word, awkwardly. I tried not to stare at Chaz, so I looked to Nicolai and Laine. They, however, spent the hour staring at Chaz, openly; and talking to him, smiling at him, laughing for no reason. Chaz, though, kept his eyes solely on the tabletop or his paper; absolutely no derivation. He offered input and added ideas, but trumped his ideas with mine, if I did, in fact, offer any. By the end of class we had our main argument and two sub points. I would call that pretty darn good for day two.

Chaz walked with me to our next three classes, saying little. He just sat there, next to me, keeping to himself, being all quiet and introverted. It was driving me insane. The humor wasn't there, the warmth was there, but it didn't reach his face; his eyes. He still didn't' seem sad or tired; just distant. I had asked once, and he just told me that he had a lot to think about. I decided to let it go and not pester him about it, but it was eating me alive. Too dramatic? It was extremely bothering me. I wanted to see his smile again…

I knew it had been just over a day; I had only been talking to him for a day. But, it seemed as though his company… his friendship, if you will, intensified with every minute I was with him. Or it had. I don't know what happened, I didn't understand it, but I was in too deep to let go now. I was starting to become friends with him- sort of. I had denied it for two weeks, having every class with him, every day, fighting with my emotions for every second.

But, we had been chosen as partners. We had to work together. There was no ignoring him any longer, no avoiding, and no trying to convince myself that he didn't exist. I had to accept it. Reluctantly, I crossed over the line. I knew it was there, and I crossed over it. I could have walked away, but I didn't. I decided to stay right where I was, and then I kissed his necklace, knowing very well what I was doing.

I had done it, crossed over the invisible line of not caring. There was no turning back now. Twenty four hours, or twenty four seconds, it didn't matter. I had crossed; plain and simple, and now I knew what was happening. I wasn't denying the feelings anymore. I was letting myself fall for this beautiful boy.

This realization and new wave of emotion should make me feel happy, right? I thought that it should. Instead, sitting right next to him, instead of across the room, and having nothing to say, saying nothing, but always watching, was driving me insane. It seems all too overly dramatic for only a day and a half of speaking, right? Well, it is. _I need help._

The bell rang, and I made my way to my locker, heavy-hearted. I threw my books in, grabbed my bag, and walked straight to the lunch line, not bothering to meet up with anyone.

I was the third to sit at the table, the first two being Jared and Kim, as usual. Kim sat by the wall at the other table, on the opposite side of the tables as I, and Jared sat next to her. Jared looked up and saw me, nodding a hello, before Kim even noticed me. As she saw me, her face lit up, and she waved. I waved back and turned to my salad, picking at it uninterested. I was starting to let my mind wander again when Rob sat down, staring at me. His eyes grew wide and her painted playful panic onto his face.

"What? No Chaz? Seriously?" I threw a tomato at him. Seth sat down then, glaring.

"No food fights." I quirked an eyebrow, challengingly.

"Says who?"

"Table rules."

"Says who?" I asked, again.

"Everyone." I rolled my eyes and looked away. I wasn't really in the mood to challenge that.

Nicolai and Laine arrived, talking about something. They acknowledged me, looking curious, and quietly continued their banter. Ander sat across from me, talking to Rob. Collin and Brady arrived, sitting in between Seth and Jared. Paul and Jacob came next, sitting across from Kim and Jared. Then came Embry, who sat by Jacob. Quil soon followed, sitting by Embry; two seats down from me. No one asked, so I didn't speak. I just sat there, picking at my green leaves, in silence.

Suddenly, a tray appeared beside me. My heart lept, and I looked over, only to see the hand that set it down, had, in fact, set it down. He kept walking. Of course. In some small way, I felt like I was being dumped. I internally scoffed at myself. I should have never crossed the line. I should have never even crossed the stupid line. _No! You did the right thing crossing that line! You are being ridiculous! So he has some things to think about, stop freaking out!_ Right. Stop freaking out. Sigh.

* * *

**CPOV**

I watched her as she walked away from me, to her locker. She didn't look happy. She didn't look bright and radiant, as usual. She looked distraught. Definitely not as distraught as I was, but she looked distraught, none the less. Oh, how I wished that I could ask her what's wrong, and then go and fix all of her problems. Or, to simply wrap her in my arms, comfort her, and tell her that it's going to be alright.

Oh, I was being so selfish. She wasn't unhappy, she just wasn't happy. She wasn't smiling, or laughing. She had looked like she was lost in thought all day. I had caught her looking at me a couple of times, wondering what she was thinking and wanting to ask her, but being reluctant to do so.

Granted, I had been thinking a lot today as well. I had a suspicion that I was the cause of her sullen mood. This, of course, made me so very angry at myself, but, after all, there wasn't much I could do about it. Of course, the pack knew about how I felt about her, I knew it, and now her best friends knew it, too. All of them, excluding Rob, of course. Though, by now, he probably knew as well. The only one missing out on this fantastic information was Aiden.

Since I accidentally slipped the info to her best friends this morning, I had been racking my brain trying to figure out a way to tell her. I sighed and closed my locker, heading to lunch down the now-empty hallway. When I was at the check-out is when it came to me. Brilliant. I rushed to our table and set my food down beside her, not bothering to stop. I faintly heard her heartbeat accelerate and smiled inwardly. _Great, now you're scaring her. Way to go, dude, way to go._

I leaned over Paul and Jacob's shoulders, motioning them to lean in. I heard Collin and Brady's conversation stop, as they looked over. I lowered my voice to the werewolves' hearing level and said something about how I thought I saw a wolf in the woods this morning, just in case anyone did hear. Paul groaned, and Seth sighed.

"Do we have to?" Jacob grimaced. I rolled my eyes. I thought having a little meeting about the matter would be good, but apparently I'm not taken as a priority.

"Whats the weather supposed to be like tomorrow?"

"I think it's supposed to be clear tomorrow night." Embry said.

"That's what I thought." I said, smiling at myself for watching the news. "We're having a bombfire." I said, winking at Paul. He pumped his fist and gave me a high five, followed by Collin.

"Finally!" Quil chirped. "It's about time, Z." The yeses and high-fives abruptly stopped, as everyone turned to stare at him. "Uh… you know… for the two Z's in his name…" He explained. "Most anyone doesn't even have one and… well, he has two first names… and…" he stopped babbling and turned back his pizza, huffing. "Or not."

"I kind of like it." The beautiful voice came from an even more beautiful eavesdropper. I looked up to see her giving me a reassuring smile. My heart seemed to do a dance in my chest. _Finally she smiles_.

"Alright." I said, returning the smile. The guys laughed and continued their conversations as I walked back to my seat and sat down next to Aiden, but I couldn't think of anything to say. I looked over to see her, once again, picking at her salad and sighed. If only she just knew. If only, if only she could just, somehow, have the information transported into her brain, so that she instantly knew and understood. _If only…_ I thought. If only.

* * *

The rest of the day passed rather boringly. Adien and I uttered few words, having nothing to say. No more smiles were exchanged. No more laughs. My heart was being torn into shreds, but I didn't know what to do. I needed to talk to Sam. Or Jared. Or both. I needed someone who understood. Someone who could help me. Because man, oh, man, did I need help.

As we departed from sixth hour and turned to say farewell to Aiden, but she had already departed from the doorway and was walking in the other direction. I sighed and turned around; knowing that I would see her again today, but she would not see me.

**APOV**

I walked out of sixth hour, not giving Chaz another glance. However, after only a few steps, I gave up. I turned around, and watched him walk away. I sighed heavily. Maybe it will turn around tomorrow. Then again, that means that I have to spend the whole afternoon, and tonight worrying that it won't. I sighed again and walked home, not bothering to wait for Nicolai. He and Laine, Rob and Ander had had something funny up with them all day. Of course, no one bothered to fill me in. It had only been a day, but I felt very disconnected, and now, I wasn't even able to say that I at least had a budding friendship with Chaz.

I breathed in a ragged sigh and scuffed the sidewalk with my shoe, trying to distract myself from the hot stinging that I felt under my eyelids. It did no good. I slowly closed my eyes, letting one single teardrop slide down my cheek. Before I could open my eyes to see the sidewalk again, however, it decided that it missed me. It must have, for, it detached itself from the ground, flew up, and hit me in the face. My hands skidded across the gritty surface, and my forehead formally introduced itself to the cold, hard cement. I cursed and pounded my fist into the ground, only making it sting more.

_What's happening to you?_ I thought I had told the voice to shut up. Sigh. But it's so very right.

I pushed myself up, making my hands burn, and brushed them off on my pants. I used my arm warmers to wipe my tears off. I then reached up to run my hands through my hair, but stopped when my hand brushed my forehead. Warm, sticky liquid coated my forehead where I had hit my head. I brought my hand down and looked at it. Sure enough, I was bleeding. I stood up, and nearly fell over. Everything tinted purple for a few seconds, and my new headache throbbed from where I was bleeding. I clutched my head and proceeded to walk home, watching every step I took very carefully.

As I approached my house, Ranger greeted me in a strange manner. He was not hyper and playful, but reserved and watchful. He came straight to my heel and escorted me to the door. I carefully opened the front door, so as to not get blood on it and let Ranger in before me. I walked into the kitchen and was greeted by my mother.

"Hey baby how wa-" She cut herself off when she saw the blood. "Oh honey! What happened?" She asked, wetting a dishrag and putting it to my head. I took it and slumped down into a barstool, laying my cheek on the cold countertop.

"Mom, I'm a mess."

"Oh, baby-" She was starting to sound caring, when her phone cut her off. "Sorry, baby, just one second, okay?" She said, pulling her phone out of her purse and giving me a meaningful look.

"Don't worry about it, mom." I said, getting up and grabbing a water bottle from the fridge. I heard her start to protest and looked over my shoulder, offering a small smile. "I'm fine." She nodded and smiled, before she turned on her heel and walked around the corner and up the stairs to her office. I zombie walked downstairs, through the small office, to the right, and through the entryway. I then turned to the right and into the downstairs living room, before turning left and walked through the living room, to the other side. I even managed to keep it together until I reached the other side of the very large room.

I walked into my room and collapsed on my bed, finally letting out a sob. What was wrong with me? I had no idea. Maybe I was crazy, or insane; mentally deranged, even! I tried to think about it, but got lost somewhere in the middle of Chaz, and insanity. I sighed, relaxing a bit, and let my thoughts drift themselves away. If I couldn't figure them out, maybe they could figure themselves out, I decided, as I floated out to sea on a dreamboat, staring at the cotton candy clouds...


	24. Running For Love

**Chapter 23  
"Running For Love"  
Tuesday December 2nd **

**CPOV**

For the second day in a row I collapsed on my couch, unaware that I was even home. When realization did hit me, finally, I mentally cursed myself for driving dazed again. I got up off the couch and stretched, allowing each of the vertebrae of my back to pop, relieving stressful pressure. I put my keys on the shelf above the TV, digging my wallet out of my pocket to set it up as well. I picked my bad up, and hung it on a hook, before heading down the small hallway to my room. I changed my clothes , throwing them into the hamper, and slipped into a pair of cut-off jeans. I then walked out my front door, around to the back of my small house. I jogged deep into the forest at a dull pace, not even bothering to watch where I was going.

I phased easily. What was hard was controlling my thoughts. As soon as I phased, I stated humming a tune that I heard on the radio the other day. I waited several minutes, making sure no one was phased, before I gave up on the facade. I mentally pressed the stop button on the song, allowing thoughts of Aiden to flow freely through the waves of my brain, washing upon me, ebbing the shore line of my sanity away.

Then, I ran. I played the look on Aiden's emotionless face in my head, intertwined with the sight of her walking away from me. I then added the pictures of her happy friends, and her hyper demeanor, noting that she was that way with them. That was how she was supposed to me; with them, not me. _Before, anyway..._ I thought.

That is when I snapped. I ran, pushing my legs farther, harder, faster. The pain of not being able to just _tell_ her, not being able to _hold_ her, not being there with her- it all came falling down on me. My heart was pounding out of its chest; pounding, pumping blood faster than can be measured. My blood was tearing through my veins, trying as hard as it could to make it to the ends of my paws, and to my brain, before circling back to the insane erratic thumping that was my heart. My throat ached from the excess of air being pumped through my nostrils all too fast, trying to deliver oxygen to my heart at an inhuman pace.

I flew through miles, barely dodging large clumps trees that would make a loud whispering sounds as I passed them. My paws barely dug into the dirt and gravel. As I few over the earth, it felt like exactly that. I felt free in body, but not in mind. My mind was tearing itself apart, arguing with my heart, winning, loosing, winning, loosing.

I suddenly slowed, skidding to a halt right at the end of the trees in front of me. I felt my breath catch and my weight roll to the tips of my feet. My heart was screaming with pain, begging to be relieved of its inhuman task. I opened my muzzle, allowing my tongue to slide out of my mouth and took several panting breaths, trying to rush blood to my brain before I fainted. My muscles started to ache, and my head throbbed. My legs involuntarily collapsed, sending my large torso downward, only to collide with the soft dirt ground. I made no movement to get up. Instead, I rolled onto my side, stretching my furry legs out in front of me; all four of them. I took a few more calming breaths trying to relax. They immensely helped in calming my body, but far from calming my mind. I sighed and stopped trying to fight thinking, letting the thoughts flow freely.

I thought about what it would be like to be normal; to be un-werewolf. I knew what it was like, of course, I had only been a werewolf for a couple of weeks. I meant what it would be like to be normal now; to be a normal teenage guy where I was _now_. Maybe, just maybe, then I would have the opportunity of being Aiden's friend. I may not be her soul mate, but there could still be the possibility. Its just that- maybe then I could _really_ be her friend. Then I could really know her, and let her know me, be her friend, and be there for her if she needed me. That is, instead of being the giant coward that I am, unable to do what I _should_ and just tell her the truth; the whole truth.

That huge part of me was not buried deep inside; it was very close to the surface, beating me up at every turn. Then there was the smaller voice; the small nagging voice inside of me that killed me when I thought about Aiden, and telling her. She had a great life, she had great friends and she was happy with the way her life was. Everyone could see it. I didn't want to screw that up for her. Really, if I told her, she couldn't tell her friends, whether she accepted it or not. Her friends were her life; or at least a huge part of it. How could she maintain that _and_ keep something so huge from them? I don't want to be the person to put her in that position!

But the more I thought about it, the more I mused over the whole scenario in my head; my feelings battling my other feelings. Always, always, the feelings for Aiden, and my desire for her to know, accept it or reject it, the possibility of _us_, that won over all else.

I sighed to myself, rolling back onto my stomach. It was such a selfish thing to do; I would be being a horribly selfish person by telling her, putting her in this position, but I had to. I knew I had to. After today, this morning being the most amazing thing yet, and this afternoon being the worst, I knew that I couldn't stay away from her any longer.

Realization hit me then. I was going to tell Aiden. No, I wasn't just going to tell Aiden, I was going to tell her _tomorrow_. I know, I know, I promised myself it would be today. But it was tomorrow. No more putting it off, and being mad at myself for doing so. I was going to tell her, and, accept it or reject it, I would be relieved of doing so. Alright, not so much; I was terrified of her not believing me, or rejecting me. Regardless, I was going to tell her tomorrow night. Tomorrow night! I had better go tell Sam!

I jumped up, spinning on my tail and heading back in the direction that I came, pushing as hard, if not harder, than earlier. The way back was different, though. Yes, the speed was amazing, the trees still whizzed past me with a whispering sound. The adrenaline was hot in my blood and my heart was hardly keeping up. But this time, I wasn't pushing myself out of anger, I wasn't trying to escape anything, or forget. This time, I was running _for_ something. I was running for happiness, and joy. I was excited to tell Sam about my decision, excited about doing it, actually looking forward to it, and overjoyed at my decision in general. Running for something definitely inspires your heart more than running away from something. Your emotions are on full alert, not shutting down. This made my legs, heart and mind pump faster, my adrenaline increase, and my joy explode all over the trees. I was running for tomorrow. I was running for love.


	25. Trees

**Chapter 24  
"Trees"  
Tuesday December 2nd **

**APOV**

I awoke in the middle of the night with a throbbing headache. I rolled over, sat up and slid my feet onto the floor. I made sure that my feet were stable before I attempted to stand. My eyes shot open then, and I instantly cringed back. I had left my light on, and my brief second of exposure to the blearing light only sent another blast of pain through my temples. I clutched my head for dear life and stood wearily, making my way into my small bathroom.

I shuffled around in the cabinet before finding the bottle of Tylenol. I slowly popped it open, dumping two in my hand. I closed the lid and gently placed it on the sink, but abruptly picked it back up, reopening it, and dumping out two more pills. I felt around the rim of the sink, finally feeling the water glass. I took the medicine and dumped the extra water down the drain, before cringing again, as I walked back into my bright room. Through squinted eyes I found the light switch and flicked ot off, suddenly remembering I should take some food with this. Sigh.

I walked in a zombie like state across the basement; through the large living room, through the entryway, through the small office, around the corner, and up the stairs. I opened the door entering to the upstairs and another beam of light smacked me across the face. The kitchen lights were beaming, mocking me, ridiculing my headache. I grimaced and found a pudding cup from the cupboard, ripped it open, found a spoon and dug in. Just then my mom came bounding down the stairs.

"Afternoon, sleepy! You really shouldn't eat that without dinner." She said, in a light tone. I did not mean to glare at my mother, it just happened. Her afternoon reference made me wonder what time it really was. I knew that I had slept for an hour after I got home, only getting up to put disinfectant on my wrist and forehead. And to change my pants. Oh no!

I looked down only to see that I was, in fact, still wearing the same tee-shirt from today, paired with a pair of grey boxers. I grimaced. Great, just great. I rolled my eyes, and looked over at the clock. It read ten fifty three. I sighed and slid into a barstool at the counter, picking at the goopy drown stuff that I was putting into my mouth. My mom excused herself and went back upstairs as she heard her phone going off. I nodded, and returned to my dinner.

I realized just then that I wanted someone to talk to. I really, really wanted someone that I could just explain my whole messed up situation to. I rolled my eyes at my own idea and sighed. It as eleven on a school night. I shouldn't call anyone. Another sigh. i threw my pudding up away and wandered into the living room, looking out the window. I pressed my forehead against the cold glass, and cupped my hands around my face, looking outside. I watched the wind blowing through the trees in a hypnotic like state. It was quite soothing. I grabbed the blanket off of the recliner closest to me and walked back into the kitchen, sliding open the glass door, and stepping outside.

The icy air whipped around me, and I pulled the blanket around my shoulders, wrapping it around my body. I stared up at the trees, wind making the barren branches dance in the darkness. I smiled and walked a few steps closer to the line of trees, wrapping the think blanket tighter, and lying on the cold, hard ground. I introduced myself to the branches swaying above me, and laughed at myself doing so, but continued talking, nonetheless. I told the branches that I had several problems, and no one to talk to. They simply silently swayed, as the icy wind danced them about. They seemed to wave at me to continue, so I did, gladly.

I told them about my stupid emotions and my detachment today from my buddies, my headache, and lack of person's to talk to. I suddenly chuckles and shook me head, fighting a shiver up my spine. I realized I was talking to trees, and sat up. Suddenly, I heard a snap in the forest. My heart accelerated, and my breath caught. I stood up slowly, heart pounding from my chest, making its way up my esophagus, into my throat. I wrapped and blanket around me tighter, as I took small steps backward. I whirled around on my heel and ducked through the glass door, quickly sliding it shut behind me, heart still pounding. _Get yourself together, Aiden, it was a tree._ Yeah, a tree that moves?

I got a cold drink of water, calming my nerves, and went back into the living room. I sat down on the couch, and realized that I was shivering. I grabbed the quilt off of the back of the couch and pulled it on top of me, snuggling under its warmth. I involuntarily yawned, breathing an a massive amount of oxygen, clearing my head and calming my nerves. I sighed and settled into the blankets. At least the trees listened...

* * *

Suddenly I was clawing the the branches, hands shaking violently knees trying to clamp down tighter on the rough bark; trying to climb higher. The sweet rust flavor ran into the corner of my mouth, and I choked back on the taste. My nerves were only making the blood pump harder, run faster. It tickled as the warm liquid reached my chin. I drew in a ragged breath, trying to stop the violent spill of tears, but it was no use. The hot rain leaked from my eyes, blurring my vision. I clenched tighter to the tree and buried my face in the bark.

_Help!_ I silently screamed. _Won't somebody help me!? _I opened my mouth to speak, but my shaking jaw would utter no words; no sound but a small whoosh of air that flowed over my lips. The shaking of my arms spread to my back and down my spine, eventually making my entire torso quiver with fear. I couldn't think. I couldn't do anything but hang on. My arms and legs were growing weak. The aching spread to my neck as it stiffened. My calves and shoulders burned, but I was dead set on hanging on. I heard the cracking of the branches below, and winced, tightening my grip on the rough tree. My entire body was aching, burning, weak. I couldn't hold on any longer. Hot tears once again spilled over my lids, and I gripped them shut tightly. My chest tightened and I screamed internally; outwardly coming out as nothing more than a harsh, pleading whisper.

"…no…!" My hands dropped off of the tree, scraping against the jagged bark, and my legs followed. My arm barely missed a branch as it fell. My body then followed. I was pushed backwards by the horrible thing of gravity that was shoving me downward quite fast. I silently screamed again, and pulled my arms and legs in to a fetal position, anticipating my impending demise that was the ground. My body stopped abruptly, landing much softer than anticipated. I sucked in a ragged breath and waited for the pain. It never came. The only pain that my body was enduring was, no doubt, from the aching tenseness of my muscles.

Suddenly, I felt myself being placed on the ground gently, as I felt the wet grass and soft earth beneath my fingertips. I squinted open my blurry eyes, barely seeing a silhouette in the moonlight. My breath caught, heart accelerated, and my hands started to shake again. I saw the figure suddenly spin around, and was at my side before I could react. I clenched my eyes closed and internally screamed out into the darkness. I felt something brush up against my arm, and cringed away, pleading silently not to be harmed. I felt something on my face then, but before I could turn away, I realized what it was.

It was flesh. It was a hand. It was a very warm, comforting hand, trailing down the side of my face. A shiver shot up my spine, and I reached my own hand up, but it was stopped. A warm embrace engulfed my wrist, pinning it to the ground. An ounce of panic shot through me, before subsiding. I took a deep breath and calmed the nerves. The small voice in my head was screaming at me to try and get away, to run; not to relax. It was questioning my sanity, and why I would not be afraid. I tried to answer it, coming up with nothing. I didn't know why I wasn't afraid. The warm skin that was on mine comforted me. I wanted nothing more than to be wrapped in an entire embrace, and never let go.

I felt the warmth draw nearer and nearer until it was hovering over my head, warming my cold flesh like a campfire on a chilly night. The hand trailed down my face again, slowly wiping the wetness off of my cheeks, before resting on my jaw. I then felt hot liquid drop onto my forehead, sliding down my hairline. I heard a deep, ragged intake of breath, a sob, if you will, as I felt the wind of air was taken in, chilling the temperature only slightly. Hot breath spread across my face, slightly intoxicating me, as the beautiful deep voice offered only two painful words.

"I'm sorry."

Suddenly, the conscious that resided in my brain decided to finally appear. It made me realize that I was in nothing more than a dream, running from nothing more than something I was secretly afraid of. Yet, the thing that I was running from wound up comforting me, instead. My mind mused over these ideas, the terrifying dream, and the difficult symbolism. Then something clicked. The haze of understanding slowly started to lift as a piece of the mysterious dream was uncovered.

I sat up, clutching my head with my hand, allowing hot tears of my own to spill onto my face and drop into my lap. I drew in several stifling breaths before composing myself. Then… I smiled. I decided right then and there that I was done trying to figure things out, and done trying to run from them. I had crossed over that oh-so-scary line. So be it. I was done spending all my time over-emotionalizing it.

However, I was not done with one particular thing. Or, should I say, person. There was something unexplained there, I sensed it in my blood. It tingled over my body, and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. It made the wind around me so much sweeter, the air lighter, and my heart ecstatic. I didn't know what was going on, but I didn't care. I was accepting that there were unexplained things going on, and I was willing to let them be unexplained. I was not, however, willing to let myself run away from this. It was too good to let go.

I wiped the wetness off of my face and smiled a triumphant smile. I slid off of the couch and flipped the light on, looking at the clock. It read 6:57. I yawned and stretched, breaking into a grin, laughing at myself for the flighty feeling that I got when I thought of going back to school. Happy about school? I shook my head. _Oh, I am a mess._ I thought, laughing. Before practically skipping downstairs to get ready.


	26. You Don't Even Know

**Chapter 25**

**"You Don't Even Know"  
Wednesday December 3rd **

**CPOV**

I rounded the corner hurriedly. My chest was screaming, my stomach in knots, but my decision was made and my mind was confident. That didn't, however, calm my nerves at all. But, I told my self to take a deep breath; it would all even out. My breath got caught in my throat in that second, making my muscles tense, before they relaxed, sending a haze of dizziness to my vision.

A grin spread across my face as I practically danced to my locker and threw my books in. All I needed to see was the slightest glimpse of her, and it seemed to clear my head completely. In this case it was seeing her back, and it cleared my head a bit too much. It took me three tried to get my combination right on my locker. Once it did open, I there my stuff in, rummaged for the right book. I barely had a hand on it when I slammed my locker shut, emotions on edge in anticipation as I started off in her general direction.

Impeccably bad timing, all of it, all wrapped into an ugly face with a side of partial angry grey fur explosion is what I refer to as Paul.

"Dude, what was _with_ you last night?" He said, highly irritated, as he stepped in my path, and line of vision. I let an only werewolf-audible grown escape from my throat as i attempted to step around him he met my step with his own, getting me nowhere. "Really," he continued, testing my patience, "You were switching songs and topics faster than I could think. You won't believe the headache you gave me." _Kind of like the one you're giving me right now? Only you didn't hit me... _I contemplated it, really I did. I contemplated just phasing and biting his head off right then. Chomp. No more Paul.

"Chaz?" He asked me, annoyance seeping through his voice. "Are you even listening? mental remote going haywire again? I swear, man-"

"Paul!" I used barely one hand to shove his out of my way, against the lockers. I tried to keep my voice flat and even, but I think it came out more aggravated and angry. Which, I was. "Shut. Up." I removed my hand his chest and stepped around him.

My nerved released when I set my eyes on her, and I could breathe again. I set my eyes on her, proceeding that way, when Nicolai looked up and caught my eye. He excused himself from his friend and rushed over to me. I inwardly groaned. The animal inside of me was biting back growls, highly irritated at people today. I took a deep breath and proceeded to ask him what was so important that he so rudely interrupted me on my way to go see the most amazing person ever- and no not Ander- who just so happened to be my imprint. Of course, I said it much calmer. And nicer.

"May I help you?" He glanced back over his shoulder at his friends, before pulling me off to the side, next to the lockers. He gave me a slightly reassuring smile.

"About yesterday..." My hands shot up in protest.

"No, dude, don't." I didn't know what he was getting at, and I didn't really want to. Yesterday was the past. We have learned form it and moved on.

"You just seemed a little ticked about our... "confrontation" and-" I shook my head and held my hands up again.

"Really, it had nothing to do with you. Its past, lets just forget about it." _Literally, Forget. Please?_

"I was just wondering about what you said..." I grimaced.

"Lets not get into that."

"Alright. Just tell me one thing? Straight out?" I sighed, glancing around, hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst and nodded, slowly. He seemed to look me over, as if analyzing me, before breaking out into a grin. "You _really _like her, don't you?" It was really more a statement than a question, but nevertheless, it deserved conformation. I looked over his shoulder at her, back turned to us and I smiled, picturing her beautiful face in my mind. I nodded, probably glaze-eyed, looking dumb, and turned back to him.

"Yeah. I really do." His grin grew bigger and he grinned at me, poking me in the arm.

"Well then, what are you waiting for?" He asked, laughing. I nodded and rolled my eyes. He didn't even know.

We turned, and made our way back to Aiden and friends. My heart rate accelerated with every step. The closer I got, the harder it beat. When I was only a few strides behind her, I speed up, closing the distance rather fast. She turned, seeing me in her peripheral vision and smiled, turning to face me. My grin grew at the first sight of her face but was quickly replaced by shock and worry. My hands reacted without thinking, shooting up to her head, taking her face in my hands. My skin burned and my heart raced even stronger than I had imagined, but it was easily ignored.

"What happened?" I asked, trying to water down the intensity of the worry and pain in my voice. I fought a tremor and searched her face for some sort of response. I felt her pulse quicken and silently pleaded with her not to be afraid of me. My heart was racing. Anger and remorse were already filling me, already somehow blaming myself for whatever ha happened. My thoughts broke as she slightly chuckled. I forced myself to release her and dropped my hands down to my side. She brought a hand up to her forehead and lightly traced a finger along the small gash that was still slightly swollen. My insides cringed at the sight of it, as my inner beast bit back more growls of sheer anger.

"I fell walking home yesterday." She explained, rolling her eyes as if dismissing the matter. "Its nothing." She removed her hand to cross her arms, but my hand caught her arm before she could. I drew in her arm, flipping it over to examine her wrist. There was a fresh scab on it as well; pink and red scrapes painted along the inside of her wrist. I looked back up at her face, seeing a mixture of shock and remorse, with a slight flicker of a smile playing on her lips. _A smile? Really?_ The longer I looked at her, the longer the image of glittering emeralds filled my head, as her eyes danced. She quickly glanced away, and then back, grinning.

"Time for class, partner." I smiled at that.

"Alright." I didn't bother dripping her hand from mine as she proceeded to walk away. Surprisingly, however, and much to my pleasure, neither did she. My skin tingled with electricity as I felt her pulse through her veins. She turned back around, amusement dancing across her face as she, once again, tugged on my hand.

"Are you coming?" She whined, halfway speaking, halfway laughing. I realized I wasn't moving and offered a shy smile, nodding, and let her drag me away to class.

* * *

**APOV**

The beginning of my day was a amazing. Beyond amazing. My emotions were ecstatic and my heart was elated. Chaz seemed to be having a good day as well, and we seemed to silently agree that yesterday- with the exception of before class- never happened. My heart wall aflutter and my head was all light and fluffy, in the clouds. Suddenly, I had a thought. I know, I hadn't been thinking lately. But this thought wasn't normal. This thought wasn't good.

Why was I so comfortable with Chaz? Why was I attracted to him? I knew I had asked these questions before, but I never really understood why I was asking them. So what if there was an unexplained attraction to him, and I turned into mush around him, unable to think or function my brain. So what? I didn't really care, as ling I was with him.

Maybe, just maybe that was a problem. He seemed like a nice enough guy. Alright he seemed like the perfect guy, from all aspects. But, truthfully, I knew almost nothing about him. I knew more about Jacob and Paul than I did about Chaz. Not that I was implying that if I got to know Chaz that he would turn out to be like Jacob or Paul... But maybe.

Something screamed at me that it couldn't be true. That I was being ridiculous to deny these feelings. But, what would I really be denying? Unknown attraction to a boy I didn't know? When I put it that way, It didn't _sound_ like I would be loosing anything. Though there was something in me that screamed in protest. He was perfect, and denying feelings for him, like I had been trying to do for two weeks, wasn't working.

Though, I was still curious. This... feeling that overwhelmed me when I was with him. The feeling that made my head flightily and my heart beat like an African tribal drum... What if it wasn't good? Sure, enough, it felt like a good feeling. Heck, it felt like the best feeling there could possibly ever be. But, something slightly scared me about it.

I remembered my dream from last night and fought a shutter. I remembered running form something, but what was it? Could it possibly be that my dream represented this very thing? I was running from this feeling, these emotions, Chaz, when really, they're the very things that give me the most comfort. Am I afraid of what will happen because I've crossed over the line?

Yes, I accepted the line thing long ago. However, I was far past the line, in terms of emotions, nearing the edge. Would I? Would I let myself fall over the edge, hoping that he really will catch me? Or am I afraid of falling? Am I afraid of what will be waiting for me at the bottom if he doesn't?

My head was pounding and my heart was a wreck by the end of the day. I departed from last period, and headed down the hallway. I absent-mindedly rubbed my temples in an attempt to calm the voices fighting over my sanity. I felt someone walking beside be an glanced over, only to see Chaz. He was walking talking to me? Oh. I hadn't been listening. I tried to mentally silence the thoughts and open my ears, trying to catch a glimpse of what he was saying. Just then, we reached the doors at the end of the halls and I pushed the doors open, allowing the cold air to hit me in the face, clearing my head in the slightest.

"Aiden!?" I jumped, looking over my shoulder to see a not-very-happy looking Chaz, still standing in the doorway. He huffed and took a step forward, allowing the doors to swing shut behind him with a clatter. His tone was slightly harsh, almost painful, as he scrutinized my face. "Were you really not even listening?" I looked away, unable to look into his eyes without somehow feeling his pain.

"Sorry," I mumbled, unable to think of anything else to say. I looked up, only to see him step closer to me. His deep eyes were so glazed with emotion it was hard to tell exactly which ones. They did, however, seem slightly restrained, as he took a deep breath and leaned down, closer to eye level with me.

"Are you feeling alright? Do you feel sick or something?" He asked, worry seeping through his voice.

"I'm fine." I lied.

"Then _what_ is the matter??" I jumped back again at his voice; his tone surprising me. It didn't scare me, it just didn't sound like normal Chaz. It sounded worried and annoyed all at the same time.

"What?" His hands flew up in the air.

"Obviously there's something wrong. You're not usually a zombie... and..." The annoyance left his voice, replaced with sheer worry and remorse. "I wish you would just admit there's something wrong..." His voice started to almost sound pained.

He continued to speak, but, again, the thoughts of my head and the emotions fighting inside of me had involuntarily tuned him out. My head pounded and my heart ached. All of these things were swimming around inside of me. It felt like hot air and cold air had jumped in either ear and were now causing a tornado of confusion ripping through my being. I looked back up at him, seeing his dark eyes blazing into mine; intensity I couldn't even comprehend. My heart wretched, seeing him angry.

Suddenly, another emotion shot itself to the surface. In that moment, all other things ceased to exist. All sounds muted, feelings, thoughts, disappeared. All silenced but that one sole crazy, fiery emotion. It finally clicked. The emotion sent a flash of memory across my mind. This one sole image, made my breath catch in my throat.

It was the image of Chaz as he flew around the corner. It was the very first time I saw him, as he made my heart jump. That one second flash of memory, triggered with his blazing eyes and that old, yet new, amazing, scary enigma of an emotion cancelled out all else. In that one sole second I knew exactly which voice to listen to. And that the only emotion that possibly ever mattered was the one that I gained that day, the very second that he came flying into my line of vision.

As quick as it had come, the feeling was over, bringing me back into reality, as the noises and thoughts blasted back into my head, and the wind slightly blew my hair. I drew in a shallow breath, kissing my conscience goodbye, and vowed that crazy emotion its right. I listened to it.


	27. Juvenile

**Chapter 26  
****"Juvenile"**

**Wednesday December 3rd**

**APOV**

My hands shot out in front of me, grabbing either side of his face. Because he was leaning slightly downward, as if to be eye level with me, I barely had to stretch up on my toes. I heard his voice catch in his throat as I pressed my lips to his warm forehead. I pulled back, putting my feet fully on the ground and looked up at his shocked face.

"You're right." I stated, simply. "I have been horrible today haven't I?" His shocked face faded, morphing into confusion. He opened his mouth to speak, but I help up my hands in protest. "No. Don't answer that. I know I have." I said, sadly. I leaned in, wrapping my arms around his torso, and buried my face in his chest. "I'm sorry." I felt his warm embrace surround me, hugging me tightly, as he laid his head on top of mine. That amazing emotion seemed to tingle down my spine, making my head swim as he took several deep breaths, warm breath fanning through my hair.

"I'll forgive you." He said, pulling away from me, hands gripping my shoulders, eyes searching my face. "As long as you forgive me for how I acted yesterday." He said, grin spreading across his face. When the smile reached his eyes, I felt my heart combust in my chest, yet again. There was no possible way to say no to this glorious person. _Snap out of it, Aiden, do you hear how you're talking? _Right. Focus. Reality. I nodded my head, allowing his contagious smile to catch hold of me.

"Deal."

Just then the doors flew open, making the both of us jump, and whirl around, only to set our eyes on Ander.

"There you are Aiden." He said, groggily, not even bothering to asking if he was interrupting anything. I internally rolled my eyes. Ander will be Ander. "You have meds at your house, right?" He asked, hopefully. I nodded and rolled my eyes.

"No, you've used them all in the past few days." I said, sarcastically. He didn't seem to think it was funny. He merely pulled his hood up and pressed his fingers to his temples, grimacing.

"Good, then, let's go." He mumbled while walking past me. It took him several steps to realize that I had not moved. He whirled around and looked back at me, expression turning even more sullen. "Aidennnn," he whined. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Chaz.

"I guess I should go before he whines me to death." I said. We both heard him deny the whining in the back ground and laughed.

"Alright. I _guess_ I'll let you go _home_." He said, stressing his words and pouting. I rolled my eyes. He lowered his head and looked up at me with puppy dog eyes. I tried to scoff. He then stuck out his lower lip and my brain caved.

"Hey, you know, we don't really have any homework." His face composed and he send me a confused look. "Well, if you have nothing else to do you could... come over." His face brightened, slightly shocked, before grinning.

"Yeah?" My heart was racing at the thought of him coming over. To my house. Where I live. _Honestly, stop being so juvenile_ Right. Juvenile. Stop.

"Yeah. I mean, my mom doesn't get home until later, but the gang will probably be coming over anyway..." I was stammering. I knew it. "...At least Ander is. Plus, we could work on our project!" I said, excited that I found a good reason. He laughed and nodded.

"Alright." His face suddenly turned a bit hazy as he looked away, biting his lip. "Uh, my car's in the parking lot, and I don't really want to leave it so..." The doors swung open again, making us jump. Nicolai and Laine appeared, chatting loudly, followed by Rob.

"Hey Chaz!" Nicolai said, poking him in the arm. "What be up?" He opened his mouth to speak, but I stopped him.

"Nick'o will go with you to get it." I said, gaining their attention.

"What about-" I cut Chaz off.

"My house is four blocks away. I'll be fine." I said, smiling. "Plus, she's got to drop a book off at the library," I said, motioning to Laine, "and he's got to talk to Mr. Peebles about his make-up quiz." I said, motioning to Nicolai. Nicolai's mouth turned into an 'o' shape and he nodded.

"Yeah, I forgot."

"Where would you be without me?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Still in 8th grade." Laine said, laughing. I looked back to Chaz, who seemed to catch my eye and nod.

"Alright, and your house is...?" I nodded my head to Nicolai. "Right." He said, nodding his head once. "He would know." I said, laughing at myself.

"Alright." I said, turning to walk away.

"Wait. I don't want to walk with you guys and "headache-boy" here." Rob said. "He'll just complain the whole time. Ugh." I rolled my eyes and turned back around, looking at Chaz.

"Then come with me." Rob quirked an eyebrow, giving him a questioning glance. Chaz scoffed. "I'm not like... going to kidnap you or anything, cut your fingers off and force you to listen to Michael Jackson." He said, flatly. Rob's face turned form questioning to shocked and confused, before Chaz barked out a laugh. "...Something likes me that you'll like my car." He offered, rolling his eyes. At that, Rob perked up, nodding.

"I heard you had a nice car." He said, nodding. "What kind of car?" He asked quizzingly.

"Lamborghini Murcielago." He rattled off quickly, as if there was nothing to it. "LP640 Roadster, respectively." He added quietly. I knew almost nothing about cars, but judging by the face that Rob and Nicolai's eyes got huge, I was guessing it was a bit of a big deal. He looked over to see Laine and I giving him confused looks and smiled. "Convertible?" Oh.

"What... color?" Rob stuttered. Like he read my mind. Chaz gave him a questioning look before replying.

"Arancio Atlas Tri-Coat." He said, as though the words disgusted him. Rob nodded, while Nicolai looked at him dumbfounded. "It means orange." Chaz offered as he shrugged and opened his mouth to speak again, but they had already grabbed either arm, and was towing him back into the building. He laughed and shook his head. "You know, it's just a car." He said, but Nicolai and Rob both scoffed, shaking their heads as well.

"Yeah." Rob said. "A freaking fantastically amazing car." Chaz laughed and shrugged, turning around briefly to wave goodbye before the door clattered shut behind him.

* * *

I was so lost in thought that I didn't even realize that we had passed the library until I felt like I was being jerked backwards. I stumbled a bit, correcting my shirt before turning around to see Laine, and even Ander, with amused faces.

"Be right back." Laine said, disappearing inside. Ander smiled and turned to me, humor dancing behind his marble-colored blue eyes.

"Really all that nervous about ol' Chaz coming over?" He asked, chuckling. I hit him in the arm and huffed, feeling my cheeks slightly burn with embarrassment.

"No." I lied.

Laine returned and we made our way two more blocks to my house. I didn't utter another word as Laine and Ander seemed to mock be behind my back. Literally, right behind me, they were making jokes about "Chaz- being in my house!!" I wanted to... Ugh. I didn't even know. But I knew that I had no Idea what I was getting myself into.

We threw our bags to the side and made our way into the kitchen. Ander started to frantically search for pain reliever to help his horrific migraine, as Laine and I sat down at the table. Laine reached over a few seconds later and put her hands over mine. It was then I realized that I was drumming my hands on the tabletop nervously.

"Sorry," I said, shyly, knowing what was coming.

"Really Aiden-" She looked over her shoulder quickly, shaking her head. "No Ander, the other bottle-" She then whipped back around giveing me a sympathetic look. "It's not that big of a deal. You can handle this." She said laughing.

"Thanks Laine." Ander and I said at the same time, right before I heard a car engine approach, and then die right outside. I sighed and jumped up, making my way towards the door, not exactly sure what I was going to say or do. I felt Laine's hands on my shoulders, suddenly, steering me away from the door, into the living room and onto the couch. I gave her another shy smile and nodded, as she flicked the TV on.

"Don't mention it."


	28. The Car, The Dog, The House

**Chapter 27  
****"The Car. The Dog. The House."  
****  
****Wednesday December 3rd**

**CPOV**

We reached the doors on the other side of the school that lead to the parking lot. I pushed the door open, holding it for Nicolai and Robert- as I cringed. We made our way to the furthest spot in the parking lot, and I could have sworn that I saw Rob start to drool. I sighed and walked straight to the shiny orange "beautiful" car, where several pack members were migrated nearby.

Jared had left with Kim, Quil was probably already picking Clair up from daycare, Collin and Brady went to work, and Seth had to help his sister with something this afternoon. This left Jacob, Embry and Paul. They all turned and nodded once, acknowledging us. They tightened their circle, lowering their voices as they stepped further away when we approached. They were talking pack talk, no doubt. I knew I should care, but I knew I didn't really. I only cared about seeing Aiden, truthfully. Rob and Nicolai started asking questions, commenting on different things and such. I gave up trying to act impartial.

"Look guys," I said, trying to conceal the annoyance in my voice, "I know squat about that stuff." I said, honestly. "This was my dad's car." I watched their eyebrows shoot up and chuckled. "Yes, my father drove this car. If you want to know anything other than the color or the gas mileage," I said, pointing over my shoulder, "Ask Jacob." They looked behind me at the intense looking werewolf mechanic and turned back, shaking their heads. It was then that I realized the small amount of seating space and laughed. "How much did you not want to walk home with the girls?"

"-And Ander." Nicolai added quickly.

"Right." I confirmed, still giving Rob a questioning look.

"Why?" Rob asked, confused.

"Look at my car one more time." I said, chuckling, as though it should be blatantly obvious. Nicolai's confused face turned as his mouth formed an 'o' shape.

"Well..." Rob offered, looking around.

I laughed and got in, starting the car, not waiting for a new plan.

* * *

"Quit touching me!"

"You're _sitting_ on me! What do you want me to do?" Rob asked, highly perturbed.

"Children." I half- growled, before composing myself. "What house?" I asked, nicely. Nicolai pointed ahead of me, on his side of the road.

"Next block. Third house. The one with the Garman Shepherd that attacks you when you said foot on the grass." He said, laughing.

Ut. Oh.

I pulled up in front of the house and killed the engine. I reached for the door handle, but froze. A dog? She has a dog? Not good. Not good at all. I unlinked my seatbelt, and forced myself to look over at the house. Sure enough, there was a young male dog sitting on the bottom porch step, looking at the car tentatively. He was probably anticipating the moment that the car door opened, so that he would have an excuse to act as a defense system; a guard of the house.

"Get off me." Rob all but growled.

"But... I love you!" Nicolai proclaimed, smiling.

"Off!" Rob said, opening the door and pushing him out in one fluid movement. Nicolai went flying onto the grass laughing. Rob jumped out and helped him up.

Of course, I was right. The second the door was open, the dog came bounding towards it, looking protective. He realized it was Nicolai and instantly his tail started wagging.

"Hey Ranger! Hey boy!" Rob greeted him.

I took a deep breath wondering how this would go. I grabbed my bag and exited the car, locking it behind me. As soon as Ranger saw my, his tail stopped wagging, and he went back into his protective state. He looked up at me, as if analyzing me. I took another deep breath and stepped onto the yard. I bent down and opened my arms, as if welcoming his inspection.

Ranger stepped towards me cautiously and proceeded to take my scent. He barely had an intake of breath before he seemed to jump back, backing away. I cringed, waiting for him to go berserk, barking or growling or... running away in fear. Anything. However, he did something I did not expect.

He backed to the side and lowered his head, as if giving me right of passage. The dog was probably thinking I was a 'superior-alpha-god' or something. I internally laughed and looked back at Nicolai and Rob. They were staring at me through wide eyes, stuttering. Rob finally composed himself and shook his head.

"Wow."

"Yeah." Nicolai added. "Wow."

"What?" I asked, standing back up.

"It took him three weeks to let me on the property without trying to growl my ears off!" Rob said. "And he's just letting you by with barely an introduction."

"Yeah." Nicolai added, again. "Wow."

"I uh... I'm good with... dogs?" I offered. They shook their heads and chuckled, looking back to Ranger, who was now sitting very contently at my heel.

"I'd say." Rob said, before proceeding to the front door. Nicolai and I followed, with Ranger close at my heel. Nicolai looked at him over his shoulder and laughed, shaking his head.

"Just weird." He muttered, as Ander opened the door.

**

* * *

APOV**

I heard chuckling approaching the door and took a deep breath, calming my nerves. _It's no big deal_. I looked over as I heard the door creek open, and Rob and Nicolai stepped through chuckling, soon followed by Chaz. He paused a second before clicking it shut behind him. My face widened with confusion.

This was not normal. Not the fact that Chaz was in my house, mind you. Well, yes, it was very weird. But something much odder had just happened. First off, Ranger was not the first one thorough the door, as always, he was the last. Secondly, I hadn't heard him bark, or even growl, or anything at the appearance of a new person. Third, he was acting like he liked Chaz. No, not just liked, he was sitting, perfectly content at his heel.

Um. What'd I miss?

Nicolai caught me first, as he was sitting down in the nearest chair.

"Weird, right?" He asked, pointing to Ranger. I smiled and looked up to Chaz, who looked slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah," I said, chuckling, "just a bit."

Just then, Ander popped into the living room. He caught sight or Ranger sitting calmly by Chaz and froze.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked, analyzing the situation. "No barking? No growling? Not even sitting by Aiden and glaring menacingly? He said, exasperated. We all shook our heads and he scoffed, crossing his arms. "It took him a solid week for him to allow me to do anything without approval from Aiden." He said, pouting. We all chuckled yet again and looked back over to Chaz, who appeared to be blushing. "So you're a dog person after all." He said, smiling. Chaz seemed to stifle a laugh at this and nodded down to my calm-as-can-be Ranger.

"Must be." He said.

**COPV**

"Mhm." Ander mumbled, biting his lip. He then suddenly turned back to the rest of us. "It's too bright up here." He declared, looking around at the windows. Laine rolled her eyes and jumped off the couch next to me. She sighed and nodded.

"Alright, we get your point." She said, walking past him through the doorway from which he had appeared. Nicolai slumped off his chair and followed, Rob close behind. Ander slightly smiling, before turning around and walking back through the doorway he had emerged from.

I watched her friends slowly migrate out of the room and shot her a questioning glance. She simply smiled and got up, stretching her arms above her head and yawning.

"I guess we're going to the basement." She said, rolling her eyes. She then looked down at Ranger and snapped her fingers. "Come on, baby, downstairs." She called, in a slightly higher voice. The dog at my feet perked up into sitting position, ears perked- but did not move. He then looked up at me. Aiden's face widened in shock. "Ranger?" She asked, hesitantly. He glanced at her, before turning his attention back to me, unmoving. "Wow."

"Um…" I looked down at the expectant looking dos and glanced around nervously. "Downstairs." I said, mustering up as much authority as possible, as I nodded the single word.

His face snapped forward and he quickly trotted past Aiden- through the doorway- after her friends. She stared after him until I could no longer hear his pattering footsteps. Her face turned back to me in awe.

"Wow." She said, shocked. "He must _really… _be in love with you or something." She stuttered. A wave of sadness seemed to slightly tug on her features, and my stomach turned. I felt horrible for being here. Obviously she loved her dog. He was a very loyal guardian for her. And in three minutes I had all but shattered that bond. Her 'baby' was listening to me and ignoring her; and he didn't even know me! I felt horrible, indeed.

"Look, I'm sorry…" I trailed off, unsure of what to say. She just chuckled, slightly forced, and shook her head.

"No, no. It's fine." She said, looking up. "Just weird." She said, offering a smile. She then pointed to a spot by the door where several backpacks were piled up. "Put your stuff there." She said, trying to sound official. I nodded and complied.

I followed her through the doorway. I learned that it lead to the kitchen. We passed sliding glass doors before reaching another doorway that we entered. She led me down several steps, around a corner, and down several more. We ended in a small office with several boxes and a messy computer desk. We went through the doorway to the left, into a larger room, and immediately turned left again into a very large living room.

The large room contained a long multi-sectional couch, a recliner and two beanbags. Opposite the couch were two standing lamps and an entertainment center; complete with a TV turned to the food network. Also inhibiting this large dim area were four teenagers and a German-Shepherd. All five turned our way as we stepped through the doorway.

Aiden went in, stepping over Nicolai, before sitting on the couch and grabbing the remote. Nicolai groaned and turned to grab it, but he was too late. She laughed and stuck her tongue out, making my heart do a tap-dance.

"My house- my remote- my choice." She said, smiling triumphantly, holing the remote above her head. Suddenly, however, Laine plucked it out of her hand, and turned away laughing. Aiden crossed her hands over her chest and stuck her lip out, again sending my heart into an erratic beat.

"Take your shoes off, hang your hat, stay for a while." Rob said, looking at me and laughing. I looked over, to see everyone else looking at me expectantly as well.

"Right." I said, looking around. It was Aiden who scoffed. She jumped up and walked back over to me, reaching out and grabbing my hand. My skin tingled and smiled at the touch. She pulled me into the room, stepping back over Nicolai, sitting on the couch, pulling me down next to her. She then grabbed the remote back from Laine, who make a protestant shriek, and proceeded to flip through the many channels.

Many comments were made about the selection of channels, arguing on which to leave it before Aiden finally scanned to a certain channel, pressing the 'select' button and slumping back on the couch with a triumphant smile. Monster Garage.

Really?

Unexpected, I must say.


	29. Exceptions

**Chapter 28  
"Exceptions"  
Friday December 5th**

**APOV**

The rain holds conflicting emotions for me a lot. I loved the rain, but there were downsides of it. For instance, when it got warm, it made it all humid and yucky out. I loved falling asleep to the rain, one of my favorite sounds- other than music and Chaz's voice. But I hated how the rain made my hair frizzy. Like right now; I wasn't too fond of the rain right now.

It had started to rain Wednesday night, and hadn't let up since. Ah, Wednesday. After I had gotten over the initial shock of Chaz being at my house and the oddity of ranger's amazing fascination with him- it had been quite alright. Okay, Chaz was with me, in my house, and I got to watch Monster garage. It was pretty much amazing. Everyone was completely normal- more than normal- happy. Ander wasn't zombie anymore and Nicolai and Laine didn't fight once. Everyone was laughing and joking- it was so much fun.

However-yes, the dreaded 'however,' as the motto of my life usually ends with, all good things come to an end. It was around five thirty, Wednesday, conference day, so I knew my mom wouldn't be home until late. So, I knew I didn't have to worry about Chaz meeting my mom, the awkwardness, or any of that. However, he had to soon leave. He said he had to go meet Jacob and stuff. _"_And stuff_"_ _Pshht, stupid stuff. _I will admit that I didn't want to see him go. I will also admit that I had a fantastic dream; much, much better than the night prior.

Then yesterday, Thursday, had gone all too well. I seemed to be getting used to Chaz being there. And I didn't have a mental breakdown once. I call that progress. I seem to be dealing with the emotions. I crossed the line. I have accepted it. It's scary, but accepted.

Still, I've notices some changed in people lately. An example of the behavior is Misty and her 'clique and friends.' I never aspired to be them or be friends with them or their clan. I never disliked them or acted impolite towards them- but I never really liked them either. I thought shallowness was sad. Therefore, I never cared. I had my small group of misfits and loved it. I wasn't 'nice' to everyone, but I tried to treat others fairly. These girls never would have understood this mindset. We never intaracted harshly, if at all. We simply weren't living on the same planets. And, we seemed to both be happy with our un-touching worlds. Until now.

Chaz was in the gang. Misty was a princess. Girl likes boy. Boy is hanging out with me and my misfits. Do the math. The Barbie and her friends decided that suddenly I had 'defied the code of _statuesque_, and interfered with peace in their kingdom.' Thus, taking their anger out on not liking me. Glares, glares, glares. I mentally scoff at their lack of maturity.

On the contrary, Paul has been all _too_ nice. I dislike that kid. He's trouble, I tell you. He acts friendly- _too_ friendly- and then- before you know it- he destroys something. Like yesterday- he broke my pen. It was a fantastic pen; black and silver click-y pen. Then Paul came around. All he had to do was say hello- but no. He decided to sneak up behind me and scare me- again. I dropped my pen- and he stepped on it. Of course, any _normal_ person wouldn't have crushed it- but he's not _normal_. He's Paul. Aiden does NOT like Paul. Mainly, because I want my pen back.

* * *

I was leaning, right side against my locker, thinking of all of this, and the fact that I was glad I hadn't seen any one of those unhappy people, when I heard a low chuckle behind me. My heart instantly sped, and my mind jumped to Chaz. Before I could turn myself around, I felt two hands grip my shoulders and spin me around. When my eyes caught sight of his face, so warm, friendly and sweet, I couldn't help but let a grin spread across my face, smiling up at him.

"It's so nice to see you alive!" I said happily, trying to mask the small amount of disappointment seeping through me. "It's weird." I corrected. "But it's nice." I said, smiling happily for him, as I gave him a quick hug.

Suddenly I heard a deeper chuckle from behind me. Warmth seemed to mask the slight chill that traveled down my spine at the sound, as I felt someone close behind me.

"May I cut in?" I had simply heard the mere voice and my head was swimming. The deep, husky voice, which is also somehow light and gentle sounded slightly amused at either: his choice of words, mine, or the fact that I was hugging Ander.

"Of course." Ander said, letting me go. His face held a great amount of amusement. He then winked at me, before turning and walking away. I shook my head and turned around, happily.

"Good morning." I said, tilting my head quite a bit to be able to look up his large frame towering down over me.

"No." He said evenly, smiling.

"No?" I asked, confused.

"Nope. But tonight-" Nicolai cut him off by patting him on the head. He then leaned against him, smiling.

"Did you know its going to stop raining tonight? I bet you didn't." He said, matter-of-factly.

"So I heard." Chaz said, discreetly pushing Nicolai away from him.

"Its going to snow!" Nicolai beamed. Chaz's head snapped to him, as his mouth fell open.

"What?"

"Yep- snow!" Nicolai repeated. Chaz's face fell as he murmured something incoherent.

"I take it that you don't like snow?" Nicolai asked, looking at his now sullen face. Chaz said nothing. He simply looked at him like an incompetent fool.

"Love it." Chaz said dryly.

"Snow is yucky." Laine's voice whined from behind me, as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders. "Its all wet and it makes the ground all mushy and-"

"Its fantastic and wonderful and stop your complaining." Nicolai ordered- cutting her off. She scoffed.

"So, what are you all doing tonight?" Rob asked, appearing from behind Chaz, making Nicolai jump in surprise. We all opened our mouths to speak, but were cut off by the warning bell.

"We'll talk at lunch?" I offered. He nodded and departed, and the four of us headed to class.

* * *

"Bananas?"

"Yuck!!"

"Cherries?"

"Yum."

"You hate cherry!" Nicolai protested. I held one finger up in defense, shaking my head.

"Noooooo. I love cherries." I said, stressing the 's,' "But I hate cherry flavoring." I corrected. His defensive face dimmed and his mouth formed an 'o' shape.

"Alright. Cary on." I turned back to Chaz, expecting more random food questions. He had been asking me these type of questions all day. In first hour he asked me about hobbies. In second hour it was tv and movies. Third hour was animals. Fourth hour was colors and clothing. Now, lunch, we were on to food. Instead of more questions, I was met by a very- adorable, but very- shocked face.

"What?" I asked.

"You don't like cherry flavoring?" He asked, exasperated.

"Nope." I picked up my beverage, to take another sip, but was stopped. Chaz pushed- with two fingers- on my forearm, pushing it, drink in hand, back down. I gave him a questioning glance, as he gave me a scrutinizing one.

"What are you drinking?" He asked, challengingly.

"Coke." I stated, picking it back up.

"No." He said, pushing it back down, pointing to the can. "What are you drinking?" I looked down at the can, as if i was missing something. It clicked and I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"_Cherry_ Coke, Chaz," I breathed. He furred his brow even more.

"But you just said-"

"There are exceptions." I said, picking my drink up yet again. I paused, making sure I was allowed to quench my thirst, before taking a few gulps of carbonated goodness. I sighed contentment and wiped my mouth off with the back of my hand, before looking up at a still-confused Chaz. "There are exceptions."

"Always." he said, rolling his eyes, picking up a slice of pizza in his hand. I darted my hand over, and grabbed his wrist, lowering the food back onto the plate. He froze and looked over at me.

"No." I stated. "Not always... sometimes..." I thought of something that classified which things there were exceptions to and which ones there weren't- but there was no common formula that I could come up with. So, I removed my hand and shrugged. "It depends on the situation."

At that he burst into a fit of laughter.

"What?" I asked, confused. He shook his head, composing himself, and looked back at me.

"You're just very..." He looked me over, as if trying to come up with the right wording. Suddenly, his face lit up- it was like watching the light bulb go off in his head by how much his eyes brightened.

"I'm very _what_, Chaz Grey?" I challenged.

"Chaz-Zonta Grey." he corrected, holding up his index finger. "If you're going to use my name, use it right." He said, smiling.

"You tell everyone you're middle name?" Laine asked, suddenly eavesdropping. His head snapped up to her curious face and he shook his head once.

"No. Its not my middle name." He corrected. "Chaz-Zonta is my first name."

"You have two first names?" She asked. He shook his head, yet again.

"Nope. Its one word." When her face remained unchanging, he rolled his eyes. "Hyphenated." He said, drawing a little line in the air, with his finger. Her mouth made an 'o' shape and she nodded returning her attention to her salad.

I cleared my throat, and his head snapped back to me. I crossed my arms and tapped my foot as I have him an expecting look.

"Unpredictable." He said, before shoving a slice of pizza into his mouth.

* * *

"Sorry I couldn't make it to lunch, guys." Rob said, as he jogged up behind us.

"Its alright." I said, looking past Chaz, out the doors. The rain was letting up, but I knew that it would soon be replaced by snow. I cringed at the thought, as Chaz picked up my bag and handed it to me. I nodded in thanks.

"So," Rob continued, sliding his arm around Laine's shoulders, "What are we lovely people doing this weekend?" He asked, looking around.


	30. Learning A Little

**Chapter 29  
"Learning A Little"  
Friday December 5th **

**CPOV**

"What's your favorite hobby?" I asked, suddenly curious. I had been dying to ask her millions of questions, and now that we are... well I'm not sure what we are... We were speaking. We were communicating. So, I got to ask questions- finally.

"I like talking." She said, nodding. "Yeah, talking is fun." She said, scribbling something down about our project.

"Fun?" I asked, curious to her wording.

"Yes. You know- that happy feeling you get when... you know... when you're happy..." She explained, still writing. I laughed and shook my head.

"What else?"

"I like painting my toenails." She said, seriously, looking up at me, before breaking into a smile.

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"Why what?"

"Why paint your toenails? No one ever sees them..."

"I see them."

"So the point is... what exactly?"

She laughed and leaned in a bit closer, whispering.

"Its like my own little secret." She said, laughing. "No one else will ever know what color my toenails are- except for me."

"And anyone who catches you with your socks off." I added. She shook her head in disapproval and turned back to her writing.

"That's not the point."

"So," I asked, looking around suspiciously before leaning in closer, asking her in a whisper, "what color are your toenails today?" She smiled and glanced over at me.

"Its a secret."

* * *

I started to ask my angel about something new, but was hushed by our horrible second hour teacher. Aiden simply rolled her eyes and took our her notebook, scribbling something on it, before handing it to me. I looked down and read, in her sketchy handwriting.

_**mr finn is a prick. what were you saying? or asking? or what have you?**_

I smiled and glanced up at our 'prick' teacher. He was reading from his book, not paying much attention to the class, so I took out my pen and replied.

* * *

By the end of second hour we had taken up pages of her notebook, though we both wrote relatively small. She handed it back to me five minutes before class. I pledged her a new notebook, and flipped back through the pages, re-reading our conversation.

_**mr finn is a prick. what were you saying? or asking? or what have you?**_

**movies and tv. favorites. enlighten me. **

**_Movies: any pirate or ninja movies, musicals, comedies, whatever.  
TV: nature food interesting or funny shows_**

**You're not being specific :(**

**_Movies: Hangman's curse, The Covenant, The Invisible, The Sixth Sense,  
_****_Undiscovered, Elizabethtown, Alice in Wonderland, A Walk To Remember,  
X Men, Star Wars, The Matrix, Nightmare Before Christmas, The Illusionist,  
The Bourne, Aladdin, Four Brothers, National Treasure, Raising Helen,  
Men In Black, Cast Away, Hitch, Jumanji, Speed, Speak, Stick it,  
Edward Scissorhands, Addams Family Values, V for Vendetta_**

**_TV: Heroes, NCIS, LOST, Monster Garage, Myth Busters, Jamie At Home,  
Lingo, What's My Line, E! True Hollywood Story, Trading Spaces,  
What Not To Wear, American Chopper, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Private Sessions_**

**Wow**

**_wow? that's all you got? wow? I spent a long time on that list._**

**Nice... long list there. Not into horror movies then?**

**_no. not at all. scariest movie is v for vendetta. or hangman's curse. _**

**why's that?**

**_because of all the big, huge, hairy spiders_**

**mmm arachnophobia?**

**_don't like spiders_**

**what is Elizabethtown?**

**_chick-flick-ish. good movie, though._**

**what's it about? **

**_a dude makes a bad shoe, tries to kill himself, dad dies, he visits his  
dads family to retrieve his body and falls in love with the flight attendant._**

**right. **

**_right. _**

**what is jamie at home?**

**_food network. Jamie Oliver. cook. chef. person._**

**right. **

**_you had better start writing longer replies or i will not reply_**

**sorry, sorry. dog the bounty hunter?**

**_what about him? I love that show. Its amazing and wonderful. :)_**

**nothing. I like it, too. **

**_no, i said love._**

**right. love.**

I laughed, and closed the book, handing it back to Aiden as we left the class.

"I may owe you a new notebook." She gave me a confused look.

"We only used a couple of pages." I nodded, slipping my arm around her, steering her around a small crowd of people.

"Right." I said, smiling. "But we have four more classes." She laughed and nodded.

"Right."

* * *

There wasn't much time to chat in third hour, due to the fact that we had to take notes and to work in-class. But, we found a little time to write notes. I grabbed Aiden's notebook and replied once more, before handing it back at the end of class.

**what is your favorite... animal?****  
****_dog!  
_good. .  
_good?  
_because dogs are the best... uh... animal on the planet  
_they are  
_glad you agree  
_?  
_I mean- I'm glad you're not... a cat person... or something  
_I hate cats.  
_Really?  
_Really.  
_That's awesome.   
_I'm allergic.  
_Stupid felines :(**

"You couldn't tell by the fact that I had a German Shepherd that I was a dog person?" She asked me, as soon as the bell had rung. I picked up my stuff, gesturing for her to go first, and followed her out of the room.

"I figured," I said, "But I was just asking to make sure." I said, honestly.

"To make sure I wasn't crazy?" She asked. I gave her a questioning look and she gave me a look, as though it should be blatantly obvious what she meant. "Cat-lovers are crazy." She stated. I laughed, slipping my arm around her shoulders in a half-hug. "Well, even more than the rest of us." She corrected, as I reached out and opened the door for her.

"You know- I know how to open doors." She said, slightly irritated.

"I know." I said, smiling. "But what if the door bit you?" I asked, mocking shock and sadness. "We wouldn't want that now would we?" I asked, shaking my head. She rolled her eyes, but laughed, walking ahead of me.

* * *

I was thrilled when it was announced that we had a substitute in fourth hour today. I smiled and turned in my seat to Aiden.

"Favorite color?"

"When do I get to ask _you_ the questions?" She asked, challengingly.

"Hm..." I said, thinking. "You could have earlier- but you didn't. Out of luck now." I said, smiling.

"Lame excuse."

"Later?" She thought for a minute, before nodding once.

"Red." She said, answering my previous question.

"Obviously." I stated, instantly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She retaliated.

"Uh... its just... you wear red a lot." I offered.

"But I do like other colors." She said, defensively.

"I figured that- I was just saying-"

"Fine, then." She cut me off. "Green."

"Green what?"

"My favorite color." She said, slowly, as though I were incompetent. I was confused.

"But, you said red-"

"Nope. Its no longer red." She stated, simply. I sighed, shaking my head, and decided to leave that subject at that.

"Music?" I asked, hesitantly.

"I don't listen to music." She said.

"Seriously?"

"No." She said, bursting into a fit of laughter. When she composed herself she pointed up at me and smiled. "Were you serious?" She gave me a questioning look. When she saw our looks matched, she snickered and shook her head. "Thought I didn't listen to music." She said under hear breath, taking out a notebook. "Tsk, tsk."

She opened a notebook and set it in front of me- pointing to the open page. She settled back in her chair, propping her feet up, yet again, and I looked down at the page. My eyes widened in surprise at the realization that she was answering my question. On the page was a list, a very, very long list of musical bands or artists. I read through them, trying top pick up on similarities, or key genres. No such luck.

**Bowling for Soup, Queen, Nat king Cole, Nirvana, Avenged Sevenfold, Killswitch Engage, Skillet,  
****Thousand Foot Krutch, Three Days Grace, Hinder, Breaking Benjamin, Puddle of Mudd, The Juliana theory,  
****Yellowcard, Third Day, Demon Hunter, Alabama, Flyleaf, Evanescence, Paramore, Fox Run,  
****Tribe, U2, Bob Marley, Parkway Drive, Landon Pigg, The Used, Bullet for My Valentine, Sick Puppies,  
****Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Keith Green, Disciple, Death Cab for Cutie, Metallica, Nickel Creek, Matchbox 20,  
****Billy Joel, Motion City Soundtrack, Showbread, Maroon 5, AFI, Day of Fire, My Chemical Romance,  
****Enrique Iglesias, Berlington, Linkin Park, Hello Kelly, Less Thank Jake, Flogging Molly, Jimmy Eats World,  
****Strike Four, Foo Fighters, Simple Plan, The Who, Plain White T's, Red, MxPx, Green Day, Blink 182,  
****Daft Punk, Lemon Demon, Norma Jean, Matchbook Romance, Dashboard Confessional, Howie Day,  
****System of a Down, As Blood Runs Back, Flatfoot 56, The Ramones, Last Chance Marie…**

"Is this everything?" I asked, chuckling. I looked up just in time to see her roll her eyes, as she snatched the notebook away.

"No." She said. "Probably not." I laughed and commented on a couple of my favorites on the list, engaging us in a musical conversation. Somehow, the conversation then turned from music to clothing, back to favorite colors.

During lunch I questioned her on foods, and our last two hours were random questions about inanimate objects and such. By the end of the day, I could say that I learned at least some things about her. Though random and unrelated, I did learn things.

I learned that she is stubborn, she likes red- but will no longer admit it, she hates rap, sings in the shower and does not really care for the color of pink. I learned that she likes cartoons, suspenseful movies, and monster trucks. Bananas and cherry flavoring are gross- except for the exceptions, that is, like cherry coke, and cherry-chip cake. The best pizza is extra mushroom, and only crunchy peanut butter is fit able for sandwiches. Rubber duckies are awesome, movie popcorn is sickening, and blue flavoring is the best kind. I learned that ripped jeans are more comfortable, and she only wears socks because they are mandatory for shoes. Panthers and white tigers are the only exceptions of cats, and that she is thinking of getting a Siberian Husky as a buddy for Ranger.

All in all, I think it was a successful interrogation day.

* * *

I felt stupid for banking on a clear day for a bonfire in December. It was, after all, way past the margin of winter here. However, I had a bit of hope. That hope was crushed by snow. I wondered what the pack thought I should do- as far as telling Aiden the legends, that is. Traditionally, the legends are told at a fire on the beach. We, however, didn't have that lovely option. I didn't want to scare her by inviting her to Sam's, with the pack there. So, I was unsure of how to go about the story-telling. All I knew is that it would have to wait for now.

"So," Rob asked, looping his arm around Laine's shoulders, "What are we lovely people doing this weekend?" He asked, looking around.


	31. Shocker

**Chapter 30  
"Shocker"  
Friday December 5th**

**APOV**

"So," Rob asked, looping his arm around Laine's shoulders, "What are we lovely people doing this weekend?" He asked, looking around.

"Well," I said, slinging my bag over my head and around my shoulder. "My mom informed me last night that she has an out-of-town business meeting- again." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Always." Nicolai said, mimicking my gesture.

"Don't worry- I won't crash your couch for the third week in a row." I pledged.

"I'm free to do anything this weekend." Laine said, happily. Nicolai and I both gave her astonished looks.

"No Friday night plans?" Ander asked, looking over his shoulder at her. She shook her head and smiled.

"My mom is taking my sister someplace for her birthday, and my dad is out of town."

"What- you don't want to go visit his house without him there?" Nicolai asked, sarcastically.

"Right." She retorted. "It'll be the perfect setting for a horror movie." She said, enthusiastically. "Silence of the townhouse." We all chuckled, and Laine looked over at Ander. "What are you doing this weekend, Ander?" He shrugged.

"My parents are holding some business dinner or something tomorrow. Going crazy planning it. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I were out of their hair." He said, rolling his eyes. "What are you doing, Rob?"

"Everything."

"No plans, then?" Ander laughed.

"None at all." Rob said, looking around. "Other than getting out of the school and not coming back 'till Monday." He said, smiling.

"I'll agree with that." Chaz said from beside me. I looked up just in time to see him wrinkling his nose. His handsome face looked so adorable pulled into a grimacing scowl. I quickly looked away, trying not to blush.

"Hm..." I looked over to see NIcolai leaning against the wall, rubbing his chin with his thumb and fore-finger. "What to do... what to do..."

"What are _you_ doing Nick'o?" I asked. He smiled and looked up at me.

"Nadda." I rolled my eyes.

"Well then- its settled." I said, starting for the door. I got two steps in before I felt something strong grip my shoulders, stopping me in my tracks, before gently tugging me backwards. I felt a flitter in my stomach and tingles shot to my shoulders, where warmth was slowly seeping through my sweatshirt. I turned and attempted to give him a scowling look- but I'm sure it came off more as a sheepish questioning glance. He smiled, removing only one of his hands, holding up an index finger.

"No leaving." I quirked my eyebrow as a questioning gesture. "Without explaining." He corrected. I rolled my eyes, shrugging off his other hand, and looked back at my unmoving group of friends. I felt my heart twinge and my skin tingled in protest, but I found it easier to think when I was not in contact with him.

"Oh come on, you all figured you were coming over." I said flatly. Laine and Rob laughed and Ander and Nicolai nodded. I turned around and gave a smug look to Chaz, who rolled his eyes.

"No one told me..." He muttered, scuffing his shoe on the ground. I chuckled and proceeded to the doors again, followed this time closely by the others. As soon as we reached the doors, though, I froze and spun around.

"Coming?" His features pulled into the perfect grin and he nodded, following silently. Then I remembered something. "Your car..." I looked up at Chaz, who simply smiled and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it."

"But you don't want to leave-" He shook his head and cut me off.

"Don't. Worry." He said, looking down at me. I was about to protest, but I glanced up at his smoldering dark eyes, and couldn't find the words to. I simply nodded, and let him hold the door open.

* * *

"Raaaaaaaaaanger..." I called, as we neared my house. I saw him on the steps, sleeping. As soon as he heard my voice he bounced off the steps and came running to the edge of the grass. I reached him, stepping onto the yard, and he stood up on me. I bent down, kissing him on the forehead. "Hey baby." He jumped back down and stepped aside, evaluating everyone else.

One by one they cleared inspection. Then, it came to Chaz. He barely took his scent, before retreating, stepping aside. I shook my head in amazement. It was so weird. That dog was so trained, he would threaten anyone he didn't think was fit to be even walking by my house. He would guard me from anyone picking on me, or even a passing stranger. He was my baby, my protector. He was the best guard dog ever.

He didn't act like himself around Chaz. He didn't know him, barely evaluated him at all, and he backed away. He wasn't afraid of him, no. It was like... he gave up the protector title when he was around. It confused me.

We made our way into the house, leaving Ranger outside. I threw my bag aside, tossed my shoes off at the door, and proceeded to the kitchen. Laine and Ander followed suit, flowed by Chaz. I leaned against the counter next to Ander, while Laine sat at a barstool. Nicolai and Rob went through the living room, coming into the kitchen through the other door, and sat at the table. Chaz, however, just stood in the doorway awkwardly.

"I'm hungry." Rob complained.

"I'm thirsty." Laine whined.

"I have to pee!" Nicolai informed us, before jumping up and rushing to the bathroom. I rolled my eyes.

"Is this why you all come over? To eat my food and use my bathroom?"

"Not the only reason." Ander joked. "We also like watching your TV and running up your phone bill." Obviously.

"I feel like hot chocolate." I blurted, suddenly.

"That's not food." Rob stated.

"Hush. I didn't ask you." I said, turning around and rummaging through the cupboard. I found the small blue box, and opened it, seeing it was full, and smiled. "Anyone else?" I asked, walking past Chaz to the cupboard with mugs in it.

"YES!" Laine squealed, making Chaz and Rob jump in surprise. I looked back at her, only to see her grinning like an idiot, drumming her hands on the countertop.

"What's gotten into you?" Chaz asked, before I got the chance to. She laughed and got up, twirling a bit, before leaning on the counter.

"No school till Monday. And I get Aiden's hot chocolate." She said, still grinning like an idiot. "Is that not enough to be suddenly excited about?" She asked.

"Aiden's hot chocolate?" He asked, glancing at me. "I assume its something special."

"Its a very special thing, indeed." Ander said, opening the fridge.

"How so?" Chaz asked, looking up at him.

"Its delicious." He said, smiling, pulling a bagel from the drawer. "Robby wanna bagel?"

"Yes'm. It goes great with hot chocolate." He said. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not…

Nicolai rushed out of the bathroom and around the corner, barely stopping before he reached Laine's side.

"Hot chocolate?" He asked, smiling. I laughed, and pulled out six large mugs from the cupboard, setting them on the counter in a neat row.

"What about you, Rob?" I asked, getting a small pot.

"Yes'm."

I boiled the water and milk and added the hot chocolate mix. While Chaz stood over my shoulder watching, chatting with my friends. I randomly commented, but found it so very hard to speak when I was in such close proximity to this boy… man… guy… person.

I grabbed the handle of the steaming liquid and brought it over to the line of over-sized mugs, poring a sufficient amount in each.

"Ander- whipped cream." I ordered, remembering that I forgot to lay out my other ingredients ahead of time. I rattled of a few other things to various people. They all nodded and complied, setting the ingredients to my left, and rushing out of my way. I finished pouring and handed the pot to Chaz. "Sink?" I asked nicely.

I poured in the chocolate syrup, honey and cinnamon, stirring quickly. I then added a handful of chocolate- half chocolate chip, half mint chocolate pieces- listening to the 'plunk' of each piece. I covered the tops with marshmallows, sprayed on the whipped cream, and finished off the top with drizzling chocolate syrup, honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon. I then put a spoon back into each cup and spun around, smiling triumphantly.

"That's some loaded hot chocolate." Chaz commented. I nodded. "Looks... really good." I laughed and stepped aside, allowing them to grab their desired mugs.

"I wanted the panda mug." Nicolai complained, as Ander picked it up.

"Oh?" Ander asked, smugly. "Do you want it now?" He asked, before proceeding to take a sip. Suddenly, however, his eyes widened and his face reddened. "HOT!" He exclaimed, fanning his face with his hand.

"Nope." Nicolai stated, picking up a green cup and chuckling.

**CPOV**

"You know," I said, waiting for the delicious looking beverage to cool, "I used to have a cat named Hot Chocolate."

Four shocked faces shot towards me at that.

"Really?" Nicolai asked, skeptically.

"Really." I stated, looking down to stir my drink. "We called it cocoa, though." I said, honestly a bit embarrassed at the fact. Why did I bring this up, again?

"What happened to her -him -it?" Laine asked. I looked up at her, sitting at the counter and I smirked.

"I don't know." I said, chuckling.

"Awe, did it run away?" Nicolai said, frowning.

"Who knows." I said, leaning down to blow on the steaming cocoa. "I hated that thing."

"Why?" Nicolai asked, sad and shocked at the thought.

"I hate cats." I said, taking a sip of my drink. I'm almost positive that my taste buds smiled just then. MmMmMm...

"Hah!" Aiden said, pointing to Nicolai and sticking her tongue out. "Another on my side." She said, smugly.

"Your side?" I asked, looking back and forth between her and Nicolai. She nodded, as Nicolai rolled his eyes.

"Nicolai thinks that cats _aren't_ one of the worst things ever." She said, wrinkling her nose. "And I disagree."

"Oh, so Chaz took Aiden's side." Laine said, rolling her eyes, stirring her hot chocolate. "Shocker."

"That meaning...?" I asked her, giving her a scowling, questioning look.

"I just didn't see that coming!" She said, sarcastically.

"Cats are icky." I said, still scowling. She simply stuck her tongue out at me.

"Mature." Aiden said, laughing.

After we had consumed our beverages, "Robby" and Ander had eaten their bagels, and Aiden had gotten many compliments on our not-so-healthy drinks, we dumped our dishes in the sink and headed to the basement.

* * *

**APOV**

I clicked off the TV and turned upside-down on the couch; feet up the back of the couch, head hanging off the cushion right next to Chaz, sitting close to me on the floor.

"I'm bored." I complained to no one in particular. Suddenly, an extended finger poked my abdomen making me squeal and jump in surprise. "Eep!" My feet flew up and my body flopped high in the air, flying off the couch. My arms covered my face and my eyes squinted as I grimaced, awaiting the collide with the floor. when I felt no change, I slowly peeled my eyes open and removed my arms.

My stomach leapt. I had fallen onto... Chaz's... lap... Staring down at me were two deep, humor filled eyes. I felt my cheeks start to slightly warm.

"Sorry," I mumbled, awkwardly getting up, stepping over Nicolai, and heading out of the room.

**CPOV**

I was fighting tremors and emotions stronger then I had in these past two weeks. I breathed calming breaths, allowing myself to release her. She stood, shaking her head, and started to exit the room. I breathed in another calming breath and let my eyes stray to somewhere unimportant. The floor. A harmless place to glance. Of course. My eyes wandered above the surface for only a second before I caught sight of something gleaming...

"Aid-!" I jumped to my feet and rushed to her- a bit faster than I probably should have in front of the others. She jumped at the sound of her name, so sudden, and looked over her shoulder as she was taking her next step...

Before her foot could reach the ground I had reached her, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her backwards. My inhuman instincts caught the fact that my small gesture would only make her fall backward. Thus, making me react in another reflexive-like action. I scooped her up in my arms, stepping slightly backward, and put her down while I still could allow myself to. The tremors were fighting to the surface. I had to fight them off with calming breaths. Reality snapped back at me and I looked down at my angel, who was giving me a look of utter confusion.

"I'm just going to check my email..." she said, wearily. I rolled my eyes, realizing I- most likely- looked like psycho right about now.

"I missed you already." I said, chuckling, as I winked at her. I then bent down, picking up the shiny object. I stood up, taking her hand, flipping it over palm up, and set the good size piece of glass in it.

Her eyes grew wide, and she looked up at me with a very shocked face.

"Vacuum, much, Aid?" Ander asked from somewhere in the background, flipping the TV back on. Noises of sorts, voices and laughter filled the air dancing around my ears, but I heard almost none of it. All my voice caught were the two whispered words of the shocked angel still staring up at me.

"Thank... you…"


	32. Sleepyhead

**Chapter 31**

**"Sleepyhead"**

**Friday December 5th**

**APOV**

My lamp fell over a few days ago, and the light bulb had shattered. I thought I had picked up all of the pieces, and gotten the remainder of the shards when I vacuumed. I guess I had been wrong. I wonder how it is that he saw that, anyway... I shrugged the question off and went to throw the glass away. I then turned to walk out of the living room when I heard Laine squeal, rather loudly.

"Aiii-deee-een!" Curse the day she figured how to get my name into three syllables. I spun around to question my name being called when my eyes landed on the TV screen.

"Yes!" I rushed back to the couch, jumping on it next to Laine. I looked over at Chaz, standing by the end of the couch, obviously waiting for an explanation. I opened my mouth to speak when Nicolai turned around, seeing the TV.

"Oh, no! Not again!" He whined, reaching for the remote in Laine's hand. She simply stuck her tongue out, giving the remote to me.

"Oh play scum with Rob and Ander." I offered, turning up the volume on the TV. With hat, the two boys whooped and hollered, breaking out the cards, and Nicolai groaned.

"Thanks for that, Aid." He said, looking over to Chaz. "You want to play?" He shook his head, walking past them.

"No thanks." He walked right past Laine and I, about to sit down, when I reached forward and snatched his hand, pulling his backward, onto the couch next to me.

"What are we watching?" He asked, pointing to the TV.

"Called a commercial." Laine said, popping her gum.

"Hangman's Curse." I said.

"Best movie ever." Laine added, smiling.

"Only because of Jake Richardson." Nicolai commented, rolling his eyes.

"Jealous." Laine retorted, before sticking her tongue out at him.

I suddenly felt Laine shiver beside me and pull the blanket off of the back of the couch. She pulled it over her lap, and mine, as well, without thinking. I smiled and cuddled back into the couch. Realizing that I was starting to feel the body heat of Chaz beside me, my heart started to thump a bit faster.

The movie eventually came back from commercial, and Laine started quoting the lines and laughing at the extra in the background that walked the wrong way- yet again. Then the infamous Ian Snyder came on-screen- and some realization hit me.

I didn't care.

I mean- I really didn't care. Because, for the first time, I didn't find him the least bit attractive. Not like the sense that I found him ugly or anything. But it was merely the fact that I knew I didn't want an 'Ian Snyder.' And I knew why...

I suddenly realized that I was subconsciously leaning closer to Chaz, and went to sit up straight- when Laine's head found my shoulder, murmuring: '_what, are you trying to wake the dead?'_ I must admit- I inwardly cheered for Laine, thanking her. I really didn't want to lean away from Chaz.

After all, he was so warm...

So _very_ warm...

Comfortingly warm...

Yawn...

* * *

**CPOV**

"Look, Chaz'o! Your favorite animal!" Ander exclaimed, pointing at the spider-infested screen. My finger instantly shot up to my mouth, as I gave him a horridly alarming look. He tore his eyes away from the screen just long enough to see my face. He started to question, so I took my finger away from my mouth and pointed to the now-sleeping angel beside me. His eyes flashed between me and her, and her and her sleeping friend, as his mouth formed an 'o' shape.

"Sorry." He whispered, turning back to his game of "Life" with Rob.

Nicolai then appeared back from letting Ranger inside, freezing in the doorway as his eyes landed on the two sleeping beauties.

"Awe." He said smiling. Suddenly, his smile turned into a devious grin, and he instantly disappeared out of the room. Scary?

My eyes lingered back to Aiden; peaceful, sleeping Aiden. Realizing her blanket was falling off; I gently reached my arm around her shoulder, reaching for it. I had barely gotten a hand on the the blanket when -whoosh. Her head fell sideways and she slid right into my shoulder. My heart stopped, and she moaned something incoherent, subconsciously settling herself into my side. I had to take several deep breaths to calm my nerves and fight a tremor in my spine.

Suddenly, Ander got up, switching the TV off, and turning on the stereo.

"What did you turn on?" Rob asked, spinning his turn; not bothering to look up from the game. Ander shrugged and sat back down.

"Some playlist Aiden had set up." _Hello_ by Hawk Nelson came floating through the speakers- reminding me of something. I glanced back towards the door, making sure the devious one wasn't back yet.

"Psst! Hey, guys?" Two heads shot up, and they both gave me questioning looks. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure..." Rob said hesitantly. I again glanced back towards the door.

"What do you think of Nicolai and Laine?" They exchanged confused glances, unsure of how to answer.

"Um... they're great?" Ander replied, uneasily. I scoffed.

"No- I mean- them... together?" They both suddenly tried to stifle laughter.

"Wish they would be." Ander said, rolling his eyes.

"I think they're both stupid. But you know- can't force them to stop driving us crazy." Rob said, laughing.

"Denial." I stated, making them both chuckle.

"Yeah, something like that." Rob affirmed. Just then I heard footsteps flying down the stairs, and their heads flew down, as if totally consumed in their game. Nicolai appeared not a second later, clutching a camera and grinning like an idiot. He started to walk my direction, grin not fading. I shook my head.

"No."

"Awe, come on." He insisted, but I simply shook my head again.

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"Just listen-"

"No."

"Listen!" He hissed. I rolled my eyes and nodded.

"What?"

"This is your camera." He said, holding it up for proof.

"...Why?" I asked, confused.

"Because- this is too good to pass up." he said, gesturing towards Aiden. "And she would kill me if she found pictures like that on _my_ camera." He stated. "But _you_ on the other hand..." He sang, winking. I rolled my eyes yet again and sighed.

"Alright." I breathed. He smiled triumphantly and turned my camera on, holding it up.

"Now... do something." He said, looking at the screen.

"Like what...?" I wasn't so good at posing for pictures.

"I don't know." He said, shrugging. "Kiss her."

"What!?" I hissed. "No way!" He simply chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"Like her forehead, dude." He explained.

"Oh... um... okay..." I said. I took a deep breath and leaned down, pressing my lips to her temple for only enough time for a quick light to flash beside me. I heard a barely audible sigh come from Aiden just then, sending my heart flipping, yet again. I couldn't help but smirk, marveling at the scenario. Suddenly, there was another quick flash of light. I looked over just in time to see Nicolai wink at me, holding up the camera.

"Perfect."

Aiden suddenly groaned and pulled her arms out from under her blanket to rub her eyes. Nicolai quickly handed me my camera-- which I put in my pocket-- and laughed at Aiden.

"Have a good nap, sleepyhead?" Nicolai asked. She yawned, rubbing her eyes again, as she picked her head up off my shoulder, untangling herself from my side. Of course my heart screamed in protest, but I had to try my utmost to silence it.

"Mmm, sorry Nicolai." She moaned, patting my chest.

Suddenly, she froze, and her eyes flew open. When her eyes landed on me, I heard her breath catch and her heart beat a bit more rapidly.

"Morning, sleepyhead!" I smiled, enthusiastically. She rolled her eyes, jumping up, and stretched her arms out overhead.

"Yeah, great naaaaaaaaap" She said, half yawning.

"So, I take it Chaz is a good pillow?" Rob asked, chuckling. I her heart-rate pick up a bit, yet again, as the slightest bit of blush found her face. She nodded, looking over to Nicolai.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"Food time!" Ander exclaimed, jumping up.

"5:37." Rob added, glancing at the clock.

"Yep," she affirmed, nodding, "Food time." She said, poking Laine in the forehead.


	33. Don't Worry, Be Happy

**Chapter 32**

**"Don't Worry. Be Happy."**

**Friday December 5th**

**CPOV**

We headed to the Dining area-- the entryway from the front door to the kitchen was a larger table-- and sat down to enjoy our fabulous frozen pizza. They were frozen cheese pizzas; we simply decided on the toppings, added them and baked. I thought it was a great idea, until Laine and Nicolai started arguing over toppings. They really do remind me of an old married couple sometimes.

Rob and I were the ones consuming all of the meat, carnivores, if you will. Laine and Nicolai went for veggie, and Ander and Aiden put olives and mushrooms on their pizza. Aiden caught me looking at her and gave me a questioning look.

"What?" She finally asked mouth half-full. ,

"How do you eat that?" I asked, cringing at the horrible toppings.

"Like this!" Ander said, cramming his food into his mouth. I chuckled and finished consuming my only-partially-filling meal. I wasn't about to say anything about my ravenous hunger, though. Nicolai finished off his food and pushed his plate away, before shooting his hand up with excitement.

"Pick me!"

"Nick'o." Aiden said, half-heartedly.

"I'm full." He said, smiling.

Just then, Rob's cell phone went off his bag, causing us all to jump. He jumped up and rushed over, answering it, before disappearing around the corner, talking quickly.

"Want to play a game?" Nicolai asked, suddenly, looking at me. Before I could answer, however, Rob walked back around the corner, quickly slipping his shoes on. "Got to be somewhere, Rob'O?" Nicolai asked him. He looked up, nodding, as he slipped his phone back into his bag.

"Yeah, my mom called- she needs me or something." He explained, switching to his other shoe. "And my 'rents are expecting you." He said, looking up to Ander. "So whether you'll be over later...?"

"Naw, I'll just come with you now." Ander said, getting up. "Later guys." He said, putting his shoes on and grabbing his bag. He reached up for the door handle- when suddenly- a knock came from the other side, startling all of us. I was curious as to why even Ihadn't heard anyone approach...

"Could you get that?" Aiden asked him, looking puzzled.

"Yeah," Ander said, reaching for the doorknob again. Ranger suddenly appeared, frantic.

"Ranger!" Aiden called. "Down boy!" She commanded.

"I got him." Rob said, holding his collar back, and petting his fur to calm him down.

The door whooshed open then, sending a cold, woodsy gust of air my way. I instantly recognized the scent, and jumped to my feet.

"Is Chaz here?" She asked dryly, looking away disinterested.

"Um, yeah..." Ander said, glancing over at me. "Come in." She nodded, still looking away and stepped a foot in the door.

"Aiden," I said, gesturing towards our guest, "Guys, this is Leah, my cousin- actually my cousin's wife's cousin." I said, hurriedly, trying to ignore her flinch as I said these words.

"Nice to meet you." Aiden said, giving her a friendly smile. Leah looked up at her, nodding once, and, to my surprise, actually smirked.

"Wow, he calmed down fast." Rob commented, still petting a now-disinterested looking Ranger.

Leah's head quickly snapped in the direction of Robert's s voice, as the strangest expression flew across her features. She quickly averted her gaze, staring intently at the floor. I heard her blood suddenly start to thud through her veins, and noticed the slight quivering of her hands.

"Oh, don't mind the pup." Aiden said. "He doesn't bite." She joked. Leah, however, did not seem to find this funny, glancing at her for a mere second, before she turned her stare upon me. Her eyes held the strangest emotion- I couldn't decipher exactly what she was trying to say.

"So, what's up, Leah?" I asked, casually.

She said nothing, quivering of her hands increasing.

"Hm... oh... um..." She seemed to be fumbling over her words, glancing around nervously. I glanced down at Ranger quickly, wondering how a female affected him. He was not what caught me off guard, though.

It was Rob. He was staring up at Leah with the most bizarre expression on his face, his hand stopped halfway in the middle of petting Ranger's head. He suddenly glanced away, almost blushing, and grabbed his bag.

"Well, Ranger seems to be calmed down." He said, hurriedly, avoiding any of our gazes. "I had better get going." He said, nearly tripping as he stepped past Ander, behind Leah. I could almost swear I saw her tense as he reached behind her for the door. "Nice meeting you." He mumbled, before quickly disappearing outside. Ander gave a confused look, patted Ranger on the head and waved to us, before taking off after his friend. As the door clicked shut I know that I saw Leah flinch.

"So, what's up, Leah?" I asked her; her gaze still averted to the floor. She drew her hand up to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose and she took a single deep breath, exhaling one barely audible word.

"Outside." She said, before spinning on her heel and disappearing out the door, as well.

"Excuse me." I said, turning to Laine, Nicolai and Aiden, before rushing out after her.

I let the door click behind me before dashing to the tree line behind her house. I walked only several meters before I found her- leaning against an Oak, shaking violently.

"I... came to tell you that... I would take over your patrol tonight..." She stuttered, offering a forced smile. It was more a grimace than a smile, though. "I didn't mean to..." Her face fell as a tremor shot through her spine, causing the tree to shake in protest.

"Leah?" I asked, truly concerned. "Leah, what is it?" What was bothering her so much? Did she catch trail of a cold one? Was it Nicolai? I kind of assumed that when I first met him, because of his paleness, his strength for being so small-- in the sense of not muscular, that is-- and his changing eye color. Though his eyes were more blue-green, and I am told that their eyes are red, or gold, or some other unearthly color.

She did not answer, simply shook more violently, scaring the tree.

"Leah? Tell me what's wrong!" I pleaded, trying to help her.

Granted, I knew this was Leah I was talking to. Yes, she was usually a very bitter person, unpleasant to be around, and very unforgiving- but there was more to her that that. Or at least, there had been... before... Before what happened...

But she had a right to be a bit bitter, did she not? Granted, Sam had no choice, but that doesn't mean that it could have been easy. I had known her then- before. So, I knew that there was more to her than the bitterness. I knew that deep down there was the loving girl who used to smile and light up a room; laugh and brighten a crowd.

If only she could be that person without Sam... If only she could find that person again... if not by herself than in someone else... If only she could...

Then realization struck me. Of course!

"You imprinted on him." I stated, not even bother to question for confirmation.

"Shut up!" She snapped, instantly pinning me to the poor tree. Her tremors suddenly increased again, making her knees buckle. She gripped my forearms for support. "No..."

"Yes." I stated, taking her face in my hands, and looking directly into her eyes. Her chest heaved, and yet another tremor shot through her spine. She shook her head violently in protest.

"No..." She whispered. Again, I pulled her face up so that she would look me in the eye.

"Yes, Leah." She opened her mouth to protest, when I cut her off. "Leah," I pleaded, "Don't fight this!"

"But... Chaz!" She suddenly let go of me, finding the strength in her legs again, and began to pace. "It... no!" She protested, pausing to punch a small tree. The poor thing had no hope, it crushed under the impact.

"Leah..."

"No!" she exclaimed, whirling around to look at me. "No, Chaz. You don't understand." She said accusingly. "You have no past ties, no... complications." I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off. "Sure, you don't know her!" She said, shooting her arms into the air. "But take some time to talk to her and bada-bing-bada-boom- you're all good! But this..." She said, fighting another tremor.

"I can't... it's just not right! It's not what was supposed to happen! And this... I can't... He's a kid!" She exclaimed. "Sure for you, you're just one macho guy who walks in and sweeps the sweet girl off her feet." She vented, pacing so fast that she started to become a blur- even for me. "But it's different, Chaz! It's not the same! So don't say you can relate because you can't!

"I can't... I can't do that! I can't explain things to that boy! I can't... I can't wreck his future- his life- because of what happened- because of what I am!!" She said, exasperated, as she stopped to look at me. "I just can't do it..." She whispered, suddenly quivering again.

"Leah," I said, advancing towards her, "Leah, listen to me." I ordered, looking her directly in the eyes with as much authority as I could muster up. "Listen to me, I know that this is not what you wanted; this isn't what you had planned. You're right, I can't imagine the heartache."I said, waiting for the flash of pain to fly across her face. When it didn't, I continued. "Leah, it's because you haven't let yourself get over it. That's why you can't move on.

"I know it seemed impossible before... But Leah," I said, pleading with her, "This is your opportunity for something else. This is your opportunity at something much better- what is _supposed_ to happen." Her tremors eased, as she drew in several deep breaths, still shaking her head.

"Leah," I said, pushing her chin up so that her eyes met mine. "Let yourself be happy."

For the first time in years I saw something that I thought I may never see again. Leah's face broke, and she smiled- a beautiful smile; stunning enough to put most girls to shame with only one small glance.

"Thank you, Chaz." She said, before wrapping her arms around me in a quick hug. She backed away, still smiling, and winked at me. "Now, go get back to your girl." She said, joking, before turning and disappearing into the forest.

I chuckled, dashing back to the house, trying to actually believe what had just happened. As I reached for the door handle I heard a light echo of a howl resonate through trees. _Good for you, Leah_. I thought, while opening the door. _Good for you._


	34. And In The Morning, I'm Making Waffles

**Chapter 33  
**"**And In the Morning- I'm Making Waffles"**

**Friday December 5th **

**CPOV**

I went back inside and explained that Leah was sorry for leaving, but she wasn't feeling too well. She simply came by to tell me something- very unimportant. Apparently, ad surprisingly, that story flew. Then Nicolai broke out scrabble.

I tried to warn Aiden that I wouldn't make a very good partner- that I usually lost count and was bad at spelling- but she would have none of it. She just laughed, exchanging a glance with her friends, telling me that when it came down to it, vocabulary was hardly the winning issue. So, I moved my chair by Aiden and drew seven letter s to start.

* * *

**Saturday December 6th**

By the end of the game- our board looked very interesting, indeed- as did our scoreboard. Though Laine and Nicolai, by regulation rules, would have won- this was a game with Aiden and her friends, remember. The final score wound up to be thirty-seven-million to twenty-one-million-and-four. Aiden got three million for the word 'goggy' and twenty million when she caught Laine and Nicolai passing letters under the table- they got four points for trying.

We dumped our pieces back into the box.

"Shall we play again?" Nicolai asked, hopeful.

"No, I really should get going." I explained, glancing at the clock.

"Somewhere you have to be?" He asked. I shook my head.

"No, but there are guys coming over pretty early tomorrow." I said, getting up and walking to my shoes.

"What kind of guys?" Laine asked, jokingly suggestive. I rolled my eyes.

"Delivery guys?"

"Did you get a new TV? Is it high definition? Can I come over and watch? What time? I'm free." Nicolai said hurriedly, joking.

"No."

"Then what?" he prodded. I sighed in defeat and switched to my other shoe.

"A bed frame so that I can get my mattress off the floor, and a dresser so that I can get my clothes off my floor." He nodded and turned to look away when I continued. "A table so that the boxes in my kitchen can go, a fridge so that I can give Embry his mini-fridge back and, yes, a better TV so that Jake can have his soap box back for his garage." I explained, all in one breath.

"Is that all?" Laine joked.

"In fact," I said, getting an idea, "if you guys aren't busy tomorrow, you're welcome to come over." I said, hopeful. "I'm making waffles tomorrow." I added, smiling.

"I'm in!" Nicolai said, excitedly.

"Just what you need is another excuse to quote Shrek." Laine said, rolling her eyes.

"I mean... a couple other people might be there… but… yeah…" I said, thinking of the pack invading my house. _O, please no_ I thought. I then took out a paper from my bag, scrawling out my number on it and walking over to slide it onto the table. "Think about it, and just… call me and let me know, ok?"

"Will do." Aiden said, smiling.

"Later, then." I said, smiling and winking, before turning to her friends. "Bye."

I walked back to the school, starting Jacobs's car and heading for home. He had told me that there was something else that he wanted to adjust or tune up or fix and I gladly let him borrow it again. I knew I could trust him, he loved it, and fixing it, and showing it off, it made him happy, I got my car fixed for free, and his car was less conspicuous in the parking lot- alone at night.

* * *

"Are you sure?"

I sighed, exasperated by her questions.

"Yes, Leah," I said for the fifth time, "Robert, will be here with a few of his friends." I explained slowly. "And me!" I added, mocking her. "I will be here too! And so will you! No way!" She simply growled at me, but, unlike usual, broke out into a laugh.

"Alright, I get your point… but… I don't want it to be wired…" She said, yet again.

"Stop worrying about it. Now, would you get your behind over here to help me make lunch, or what?" She huffed into the phone playfully as I heard a door shut in the background.

"Fine, see you." She said, clicking the phone off, leaving the dial tone dead in my ear.

"Rude." I muttered, hanging the phone up.

* * *

I barely picked up the sound of footsteps before I realized they were closer than I thought. I whirled around, locating the intruder, when I froze. Wow.

"Chaz!" she screeched, suddenly in front of me, holding the bowl I was hanging onto, just a second ago, only a few inches from the floor. "Close one." She laughed, setting he bowl on the counter. "Chaz?" She asked, waving a hand in front of my face. "Anyone home?" She joked.

"…Leah?" I stuttered. She laughed and rolled her eyes.

"No. No Chaz it's me, Seth. Can't you tell us apart by now?" She asked, mockingly.

"Wow." I manage to say. "You're just so… different."

"It's not bad, is it?" She asked, worried.

"No! No, no, no!" I clarified, shaking my head, chuckling. "You're… You're Leah again." It was the best way I knew how to describe it. She was happy and joking, laughing and smiling, and absolutely beautiful- not just how she looked, but her personality, her expressions, her attitude was beautiful. Simply beautiful. I saw her lower lip quiver, and, before I knew it, I was wrapped in a Leah hug, and she was burying her face into my chest.

"Oh, Chaz, that is the sweetest…" She broke off, pulling away from me. "Do you really think so?" She asked, hopeful.

"Definitely." I said, smiling. She simply returned my smile, and took over making eggs.

"Didn't get any shells in this, did you?" She joked, pouring the bowl into the pan.

It was so weird to see her this way- but it was so amazing. I never would have thought I would get to see this person again; the light hearted, happy, beautiful girl that we lost all those years ago. It was so incredible having her back, and she looked like she enjoyed it too. She also looked like she enjoyed getting ready to come over here today. As if her attitude wasn't enough, her appearance was just as drastic.

Instead of her regulation tank top and sweats, or jeans, or what have you, she looked nice- very nice. She was wearing bitted jeans and a top- nothing fancy- but it made her look so much better than _pack_ clothes. Instead of having her messy hair tied up, she let it down so that it was long and straight, flowing down her back.

If I didn't know her, I definitely would not recognize her today. I hoped that things would go well for her now, that this person would stay…

Not even ten minutes later we both heard the sound of an engine approaching, working both of us up.

"Leah," I breathed, "we need to relax."

"Relax?" she asked, laughing nervously. "I'm relaxed. I'm totally and completely relaxed." She said so fast, it was hard to make out her words. "I couldn't be more at ease; nope, not me. Who needs to relax?"

"Oh, no!" I cried in mock horror, shaking her shoulders. "Not now! You can't have a mental break down now!"

We both burst into a fit of laughter at that, just in time for the door to swing open and an angel to walk though. I was instantly in the next room- the living room- standing next to Leah, trying to act casual.

"Just so you know," Aiden said, holding up one finger in our general direction, and slipping off her shoes, without any instruction, "I hate the snow." She stated, wrinkling her nose, before shrugging out of her jacket and hanging it on the hook- again, with no instruction. "And you have an adorable house!" She said, as her voice lighted up.

"Thanks." I said, looking to Leah. "Oh, Aiden, you remember Leah." She looked over to her and her eyes froze.

"Yeah… um… wow." She mumbled. Leah looked nervous, before Aiden chuckled, shaking her head. "You look like you're feeling much better." She said smiling. Leah chuckled as well, easing up.

"Oh I am…" She said, just in time for the door to creak open, and three more bodies to walk through, a bit more wet than the first.

"Sorry," Nicolai apologized, "Laine decided that snowball fights are fun when other people aren't paying attention." He said, darkly, glaring at the cheerful girl beside him.

"Oh he's just a sore loser." She said, glancing around. "Shoes? Coat?" She asked, unlike the first. I saw Aiden roll her eyes and point with her index fingers, to the floor by the door, and then to the rack.

"Was it that hard?" She asked, smiling.

"I wanted to be polite." Laine explained. "Unlike some people." She said, jokingly.

"If I was being impolite, they would kick me out." She said, walking over to my couch and sitting down.

"So, where's Ander today?" I asked, looking around.

"I don't know," Aiden said, glancing over her shoulder. "Where did you say Ander was?"

It was then that I first noticed Rob, still standing by the door, avoiding her gaze. _I wonder if it's already affected him_ I thought, side, glancing at Leah. _Poor guy_. Leah wasn't looking at him either, not directly. She was merely glancing at him every so often, heartbeat picking up, and looking away.

"His… uh… parents dragged him somewhere today… Making up for… not spending time with him or something…" He explained, looking at either me or Aiden nervously. "And then he's going to visit his mom." He added.

"I'm confused." I admitted. "If he's with his parents… Oh- step mom?" I asked, feeling utterly stupid.

"No, Ander is adopted." Aiden explained. "His parents helped him find his mom a couple of years ago and he visits her now and then…" She trailed off, sadly. I wasn't about to ask, but she explained anyway. "She's in a facility." She explained, glancing at Robert. He simply shrugged.

"Insane Asylum." He said, as if it were no big deal. When he realized her was getting stares of confusion, and a bit of disappointment for saying that- from me, of course, he laughed. "It's what Ander says." He explained. "Actually," he corrected, "He tells people she's crazy. But we tend to be a bit more discreet." He said, nicely.

I could now hear Leah's heartbeat filling my ears with its fast pace and couldn't take it anymore.

"Well, I'm hungry." I stated, glancing into the kitchen. "Anyone else hung-"

"Me!" Nicolai said, enthusiastically.

"Alright," I chuckled, "I'll go finish food then." I said.

"Need any help?" Aiden asked, getting up.

Leah shot me an alarmed look, like she was afraid of being alone with them. Aiden already shrugged past me into the kitchen, so I thought fast.

"Could you get a couple chairs out of my room?" I asked, thinking that might buy her some time. I then quickly went in after Aiden.

"Mm, waffles." She said, walking up to the counter. I followed, behind.

"I wish I knew how to help." I thought, sadly.

"With what?" Aiden asked, glancing over her shoulder. Oh, did I say that out loud?

"Actually, I think I could use your help…" I trailed off, suddenly torn, not knowing what to tell her. She smiled sweetly and stepped over to where I was leaning against the counter.

"I can't promise I'll be able to- but I can try." She said, honestly, pulling her hair over one shoulder.

"I'm not sure how much she will like this- but I don't know how else to help..." I trailed off again.

"Spit it out, Chaz." She said, flatly.

"Well... you see..." I struggled for exactly what to say. "Leah... sort of... has a... thing for Rob." I explained weakly. Her reaction shocked me. She chuckled. No, she laughed. Hard. "What's so funny?" I asked, confused. "I'm not kidding." I clarified.

"No, no, I didn't doubt that." She said, composing herself. "Its just... funny." She said, smiling.

"Spit it out." I said, mimicking her.

"Alright, alright." She said, clearly disapproving of my imitation. He hushed her voice, looking over her shoulder, and leaned in closer. "This morning," she said, still smiling, "Ander called me, telling me that he couldn't make it and that Rob would be by a bit later than he had said last night when I called." I nodded, prodding her on. "Then he proceeded to tell me about his _lovely_ night with Rob." I shot her a questioning glance and she continued, chuckling. "All he did was talk about _Leah_."

"Really?" I said, unbelieving.

"Yeah." She chuckled. "Ander told me it was driving him so crazy hearing about this girl that they only saw for about fifteen seconds yesterday." She said, shaking her head. "Its the weirdest thing." I nodded, inwardly grimacing. _Did she think our friendship was weird, too?_

"So, there should really be no problem." I said.

"Why would there be?" She asked.

"Well its just that... Leah is older than him... I mean... not much older... but still, a bit... and some people think that's weird..." She shook her head.

"Yeah, I don't think its that weird. I mean, Rob is older than the rest of us." She said. "Other than you." She added, quickly. "Wait... how old are you?"

"How old is he, exactly?" Leah asked, suddenly, making Aiden jump about six inches off of the floor, twitching in mid air.

"Leah! You scared me!" She said, chuckling nervously.

"Sorry." Leah said, apologetically. "I tend to have rather quiet footsteps." She said, shyly.

"Its fine. I'm easily snuck up on." She said, rolling her eyes. "Curse the day that Paul figured that out."

"Stupid Paul." Leah and I said in unison, making her laugh.

"Yeah, that." She said, smiling.

"Not to back track, but since you know I guess there's no shame in asking..." Leah commented.

"Oh, right." Aiden said, smiling. "Robert is eighteen, and his birthday is... June?" She said, unsure. "Yes! June first; easy enough to remember." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh." Leah said, before smiling. "Thanks, I guess." She said, unsure of what to say.

"His last name is Austen." Aiden stated, happily to give her information on said friend. "And his middle name is Clyde. Though he hates it when people say it." She said. "Though I'm sure he wouldn't get mad at you." She added, winking. Leah chuckled and nodded.

"I see." She said.

"Chaz!" Nicolai interrupted, calling me from the other room. "How do you turn this thing on?" He questioned. I apologized and stepped out of the room, seeing a very confused Nicolai leaning down over my TV. "I don't get it." He stated.

"Obviously." I said, rolling my eyes and picking up my remote off of the end table.

**APOV**

As soon as Chaz had exited the room, Leah turned to me, with a torn face.

"You may possibly be the only one who understands." She said, sighing.

"How's that?" I asked, not catching what she was saying. She rolled her eyes.

"You definitely _do_ know what it is that I'm talking about." She said, slyly. "You felt the same way about Chaz- am I wrong?" I started to question her when she cut me off. "Don't ask how I know these things, I just do." The said, as if it were no big deal. I stared at her, unbelieving. "So we meet these boys that we know maybe nothing about and are utterly attracted. So some might say that its _normal_ or something- but we know better. I, personally, don't believe in love at first sight." She said, rolling her eyes. "But it seems different somehow." She said, looking at me. "You know?" I sighed and nodded.

"How you know this I don't know... but yes; you are very right."

"So what shall we do about this..." She said, tapping her finger to her chin. "Its not like we can simply ignore this- oh no." She turned to me with a sly look on her face and I huffed.

"Yes, alright; I see what it is that you're getting at. Strange attraction. We can't fight it. I get it." I said, grabbing a bottle of syrup and walking to put it on the table.

"Alright, what do you want to know?" She asked, smiling. I simply turned to her, confused. "Oh don't even give me that." She said, taking plate of waffles from the counter and walking over to set them on the table. "You know you have unanswered questions that you can't seem to ask him." I tried out a chuckle and shook my head, as if dismissing her questions. "Alright," she said, picking up another plate, "If you really want to know, though, I'm here."

"Why me?" I blurted out, suddenly.

"What?" She asked, setting down the plate and walking back to me, looking confused. I sighed and elaborated on my comment.

"Of all the girls at our school he hasn't seemed interested in any of them- yet he's perusing being friends with me- why?" She chuckled, shaking her head.

"Sorry, that's a question you're going to have to ask _him_." She said. I rolled my eyes, leaning against the counter.

"Thanks." I mumbled, sarcastically.

"Hey, alright," She said, seeing my sullen expression. "How about the fact that all of the girls seem to swoon over him and the rest of the pa- gang? Hm? I bet my car that you aren't like that." I laughed at her comment, nodding.

"Yeah? So?"

"So, maybe that's it." She said, walking towards the table. "Or maybe not." She said, throwing me a wink over her shoulder, setting another plate on the table.

"So who else knows about _your... _situation?" I asked, curiously. She chuckled.

"Who else?" She asked, smiling. "Chaz."

"Afraid to tell anyone else?" I asked.

"No one else would understand." She said, sadly.

"Yes, that makes sense." I said, suddenly realizing something. "So... are you going to or not?" I asked, winking at her. She seemed to be confused by this? I rolled my eyes. "Don't you have _something_ you've been wanting to get off your chest? To say? ...Anything at all?" I asked. "Not being able to tell anyone must be hard." I said, sadly.

"Do you have anyone?" She asked, looking up at me.

"Well... my friends have kind of caught the general idea of him... but I haven't really been able to explain it... and that's been hard because I'm usually so close to my friends." I explained. "But, when it comes to... _this_," I said, pointing over my shoulder, "I kind of keep it to myself."

"So, you know how hard it is to be all bottled up." She said, laughing. "And I've known- well, not really- him for less than a day. I can only imagine how you feel. Oi." I chuckled, nodding.

"Yeah, just call me danger; pressure hatch waiting to explode." I said rolling my eyes and laughing.

It was weird how much I was able to share with her the more time I spent with her, and the more I realized we were basically one and the same. It brought a strange sense of comfort having someone to relate to. Though, her situation did seem minor compared to the last few weeks of my life- I wasn't about to turn this away. It was so easy to tell her the truth, to talk to her. Thank Chaz for having cousins... or... however they were related.

"So, go ahead," she said, pulling two chairs from the table and sitting down, waving her hands to the side for me to continue, "explode." She said, smiling.

However, just then, Robert appeared in the doorway, looking away awkwardly. I could swear I heard Leah's heartbeat pounding from nearly four feet away.

"You guys- girls... um... Need any help?" He asked, tripping over just about every word. I stifled a laugh. Awe, the poor guy.

"No, I think we're fine." Leah said, sweetly, looking over to him. "But thanks for asking." She said, flashing a beautiful smile. Robert looked up for only a second, and quickly looked away, nodding once, and disappearing.

As soon as he was out of sight, Leah slumped down in her chair, putting her face in her hands and groaning, frustrated.

"It'll just be too weird." She said, sighing. "Granted, I'm not too much older than him- but I am!" She scuffed her toe on the ground, giving a disapproving look to the doorframe and sighed, yet again. "But did you see him?" She said, sitting up suddenly, grin spread across her face. "Of course, he was acting weird- unless that's just how he is... But somehow I doubt it- but he... was so..." She sighed again, looking off into the distance. "The way those snowflakes melted in his hair... and his light- hearted laugh..." She trailed off, realizing she was doing all of the talking. "Sorry." She muttered, looking a bit embarrassed.

"No, no, its fine." I reassured her. "Really."

"Is this how you feel about Chaz?" She asked, looking me over carefully. I would love to say no, witnessing the look of stupor that waved across her face just now, but I knew there was no way that I could deny it. So I nodded.

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"I don't know how you stand it." She said, shaking her head.

"I can't." I said, laughing.

"My waffles!" Nicolai gasped, rushing into the kitchen, making both Leah and I jump. "You're getting cold." He said, too sadly. "I'm sorry." He apologized to the breakfast food. "Its not your fault." He said, turning to us and trying to scowl, but breaking into a laugh instead. "Good job." He said, before turning towards the doorway.

"Just remember," I said, lowering my head to whisper in Leah's ear, "don't be offset by the weird guy he's being now. He's really a charming, confident guy." I said, pulling back and winking.

"I've just got to find him, huh?" She said, laughing. "No pressure or anything."

"None at all." I said, getting up and going after Nicolai. I took a few steps into the living room, only to almost run into Rob, leaning against the wall, making both He and I jump.

"Sorry, Aiden." He said, offering a shy smile. "You startled me." I rolled my eyes and playfully punched him in the arm.

"You're acting really weird today." I said, scowling at him. He seemed to be embarrassed, and looked away.

"Sorry?" He offered. I rolled my eyes again.

"No, _dude_," I said, "don't apologize. Fit it." I stated, starting to walk way, but he grabbed my arm, pulling me back.

"Ok, you want to know why I'm acting weird?" He said, leaning down and lowering his voice, glancing over his shoulder. "Oi, this is a bit embarrassing, ok... um..."

"Leah." I said, rolling me eyes, and his widened at the statement.

"How did you..."

"How did I know?" I said, scoffing. "You really think you're not blatantly obvious, Mr. Shy-Guy." I said, chuckling. "You are so _not_ shy." I stated, looking him in the eyes. "You got to man-up, _dude_." I said, playfully pushing him again. "Now, go eat waffles. Talk to the pretty girl." I said, winking. "Be merry and have a nice day." I said, walking away, leaving him speechless.

I walked up to Chaz, reaching _way_ up to tap him on the shoulder.

"I'm hungry." I stated, staring up at him; staring _way_ up at him.

"Alright," he said, smiling and turning back to Nicolai, "_now_ you can go eat." Nicolai rolled his eyes, pushing past the both of us, muttering something under his breath along the lines of, 'if _she_ says it he listens...' I chuckled and turned to Laine, sitting on the couch.

"Food." She said, getting up and grabbing the hands of both Chaz and I, dragging us into the kitchen.

* * *

**CPOV**

"So I'm really older than you, huh?" Rob asked, unbelieving. "I don't believe it." I rolled my eyes, pushing my plate away.

"I told you, dude, I'm older than you." He looked at me skeptically for a moment before replying.

"Alright, how old _are_ you?" He asked.

"Seventeen."

"No way." He said. "When is your birthday?" He asked.

"January."

"Mhm, I see." He said nodding. "So how is that you knew I was older than you."

"I can just tell." I said, laughing. "No, Aiden said something about you being older than everyone else- excluding Leah." As soon as I said those last words I bit my tongue so hard- I thought I may bite through it. _Bleeding all over the table would not be good today, Chaz_. Right.

"Oh?" Robert asked, glancing across the table at the person next to me- who most-likely wanted to murder me right now.

"Yeah." She said, nodding, as if it were no big deal. I sure hoped that it wasn't.

"So, let me guess, you're nineteen?" Nicolai asked. I bit my tongue again, cursing myself for starting this conversation.

"Yeah." She said, nodding again. _Liar_ I said, under my breath so that the not-so-sensitive ears could not hear us. _Shut up_ she whispered back, nicely. "My birthday is the beginning of December." That much was true. Her birthday _was_ the beginning of December, but, I knew for a fact that she had just turned twenty-one, not nineteen.

"So Leah is the oldest, though not by much, and Aiden is still the baby, by a lot." Nicolai said, laughing. I looked over to see Aiden, quickly look away, muttering something under her breath. "Sorry, Aid." He said, unsympathetically, smiling.

"O, gee, thank you, Nicolai Lee." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh? Is that so?" I asked, not too surprised by the fact that she was the youngest- but by a lot...? "So from oldest to youngest we would be... Leah, Robert, me..." I said, glancing over at Laine and Nicolai... "Nicolai?" I said, unsure. He simply nodded. "Then Ander?" She nodded as well. "Then, I guess You?" I asked her, as she nodded again. "And _then_ Aiden."

"Don't say it as if it were any big deal or anything." She said, sarcastically.

"So, I'm guessing that Nicolai is seventeen?" I asked, looking at him.

"October thirteenth." He said, smiling.

"And Ander is... seventeen as well?" I asked.

"October thirtieth." He said. "Dangerously close to Halloween." He said, jokingly wide-eyed.

"Laine is seventeen." I stated. She shook her head.

"No sir." She said. "I be still a young 'in till February." She said, sadly.

"Then Aiden." I said, smiling. She rolled her eyes, looking a bit embarrassed.

"I have no idea when your birthday must be... June? March? I can't guess."

"May. Fifteen." She stated.

"Oh. Wait, so you're not _that_ much younger than Laine. Why the exaggeration?" I asked, confused.

"I'll be sixteen." She stated, flatly. Wait, what?

"How is that possible?" I asked, confused. She rolled her eyes, running her fingers around the rim of her glass.

"I was young to start school, and skipped eighth grade when I moved." She said, shrugging. "I'm the youngest student in our graduating class, and , yes, the youngest person here." She said, rolling her eyes. " This conversation is thrilling. Really." She said, as I actually hinted a bit of sadness in her voice.

"When you moved?" Leah asked, not-so-changing-the-subject. She nodded, looking up at her.

"Yeah, when my parents... I don't know what you would call it other than deciding to go their separate ways... My mom moved with me here to La Push... and Olsen moved with dad to Sacramento." She said, a bit more sadness seeping through her voice.

"Olsen?" Leah asked. Aiden seemed to smirk at that, looking back down, distant look in her eyes. She sighed.

"See, you have to understand... it was like... they were strangers... they were both work-aholics, my parents... they barely ever saw each other..." She explained. "So, it really wasn't a surprise when my parents told me that my dad had gotten a promotion- to move to California and run the company there. Then again, my mom had gotten a promotion around the same time... she was finally starting to build up her client list and things were going great for both of them... neither of them would sacrifice... so they just... didn't." She said, looking up.

"I was never really close to my dad..." She explained, before her face fell. "But Olsen..." Her face seemed even more distant, far away, even, as she said the name. She took in a deep breath, before looking up. "Olsen is my older brother. He moved with my dad."

"Why?" Leah asked, sadly.

"Well," she said, rolling her eyes, "the stupid boy had to go and get in trouble at school. So, my dad found a great school for him there, and my mom seemed to be all for the idea. And that was that." She said.

"You seem like you really liked you brother." Leah said, sadly.

"Oh, I don't like him." She said, laughing for the first time. "I absolutely adore my brother." She said, smiling. "He e-mails me all the time, and he's been able to visit for Christmas. I guess its all for the best. My dad seems to be really happy with his job and my mom- well you know." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry for brining all that up." Leah said, apologetically. "I didn't mean to-"

"No, no, its fine." Aiden said, holding up her hands. "Its all good." She said. "Really."

"I have an idea!" Nicolai announced, suddenly. When we all gave him shocked, yet curious looks he smiled, sitting back down. "Lets play scrabble." He said, getting groans from the rest of us as a response.

"I've got a better idea." I said, getting up. "Lets play guitar hero." I said, getting smiles from everyone. "That's what I thought." I said, giving him a smug look and leading the way into the living room.


	35. PDA

**Chapter 34  
"PDA"**

**Saturday December 6th **

**CPOV**

We played a few rounds of guitar hero- and Nick'o wound up taking the title for them all. Surprise? Not quite. What was surprising, however, was how at ease we all seemed to be. Maybe it was the fact that my mind had worked the whole situation up in my mind the night before. Whatever it was, though, I was glad for it. We all were talking and laughing and poking fun at Nicolai like old friends. Granted, Aiden, Laine and Nicolai all _were_ old friends-- I was surprised at how Leah and I just seemed to blend into their conversations and understand their crazy antics.

It was all just so new to me, old friends. I hadn't been one for keeping long friendships. People were always so fake; unreal. They were always changing and morphing to new trends and ideas-- whereas my family stayed the same. My cousins and their families-- the pack-- had always been close; and gotten closer because of the common mutation. Har-har. They were close to the legends and the old life of the reservation; preserving their heritage and their family values. People at school were just so... shallow. They didn't care about those real things; important things. My cousins-- now my brothers-- were the best friends I'd ever had.

The most amazing thing, though, was just sitting back and watching Rob and Leah. After they had both seemed to break out of the initial awkwardness-- I don't know why, but somehow I believe Aiden was involved-- they really broke out of their shells. They were laughing at each other's humor, joking, and smiling at each other's quirky faces-- even touching. Not inappropriately, mind you, but discreetly, simply; the small gesture that says a lot. They would put their hand on the other's shoulder when they added to their comment, or playfully push the other after a bout of sarcasm. It was really rather sweet.

I suddenly wondered how Aiden and I compared to them. Granted, they had known each other for less than a day, but they looked so... happy-- to simply be in each other's company. They had instant chemistry for conversation and humor. And they didn't deny it, or shy away from it-- at least not nearly as long as I had been...

"Chaz?" Nicolai asked, snapping his fingers in my face excessively.

"Hm?" I asked, snapping out of my recent state of stupor.

"You want to play again?" Rob asked, holding out the plastic guitar to me. I shook my head; both denying the toy, as well as clearing my head.

"No, I'm good." I said, leaning back against the bottom of the couch in front of Nicolai.

"Alrigtie." Leah said, smiling. "Looks like it's you versus me." She said, taking the other guitar from Laine.

"You're on." Rob said, giving her a quick wink. She chuckled and playfully pushed him.

"I'm betting on Leah." Laine said, plopping down on the couch next to Nicolai.

"No way!" Nicolai challenged. "Rob will OWN." He declared. I could only imagine the look she was giving him right now, before I heard her proceed to argue with him. Do those two ever stop? Something tells me that it's doubtful.

Just then, Aiden slid off the couch-- where she was seated by Laine-- and onto the floor. She slid right up next to me, resting her head on my shoulder. I gave an inaudible sigh. I heard our hearts accelerate together, and secretly wondered how it was that she felt. I wondered if it was truly fair to compare us to Leah and Rob; both afraid of what the other will think, while clearly thinking that the other won't understand their feelings.

My instinct was to deny that question, knowing that she couldn't possibly, wouldn't possibly be thinking that way. At most, in her book, I was a friend. Granted, my imagination liked to play tricks on my sometimes, thinking that the way she had glanced at me was more than it was, or that she was blushing, or her heart rate was speeding up-- when really, it probably wasn't. After all, that is what she does, right? She befriends guys-- like Nicolai, Rob, and Ander...

I suddenly realized something very important to add to my logic. She was here. She was here, in my house, with her head on my shoulder and an accelerating heartbeat. It was safe to say that she feels the same, right? Well, definitely not the same-- but, at least a fraction of the same, right? Relatively the same? Or close?

If that's true-- do I not feel like an idiot? No, I most certainly do. I feel so incredibly much for her-- yet, I can't seem to make a fraction of a 'move' or what-have-you. And here she was, leaning onto my shoulder, taking at least a bit of initiative. _Idiot_ I said to myself. _Idiot, idiot, idiot. _I sighed, sliding my arm over her shoulders and lay my head on top of hers, yawning. I heard her heart skip one beat, and chuckled inwardly, before something bluntly jabbed me in the forehead. Aiden's finger.

"Who's the sleepyhead now, Mr. …yawn... ing..." She said, making herself chuckle.

"Still you." I said evenly, pulling her hand out of my face. I laid my hand on my lap, not letting go of hers. Expecting her to pull away, as my negative brain so easily assumed-- I was stunned when Her heart stuttered, and her fingers suddenly laced themselves through mine. She sighed, nesting further into my shoulder, as my heart took its turn dancing in its chest.

Life was good. Amazing. Perfect. I never wanted to change, I never wanted to move. Bliss. Simply.

"Awe." Stupid Nicolai said, laying his head on top of mine. "It's a moment." He said, fake emotion in his voice. A low growl vibrated through my chest, and he jumped up, yipping.

"Intense." Aiden said, looking up at me, smiling. She chuckled, looking a bit more impressed than anything, sitting up-- stupid Nicolai-- and turning around to glance at him. I did the same, seeing a wide-eyed boy staring back at me. Suddenly Laine burst out laughing.

"Dude, you have _got_ to teach me how to do that!" She said, pointing at Nicolai. "See? You scared him speechless." Aiden rolled her eyes at her friend.

"Wow." Nicolai suddenly said, looking over at the clock. "It's getting kind of late." He stated, looking back at Laine. It shocked me when Aiden replied.

"So?" She said, her hand gripping mine a bit tighter, as her voice showed the tiniest bit of a frantic edge. "You got somewhere to be?" She asked.

"Well, no-"

"Of course not. Its Saturday night. Relax." She said, widening her eyes in exaggeration, and chuckling. Is suddenly came to the realization of her antics. She didn't want to leave; thus, the hand-gripping and the 70's themed 'dude, relax.' It was actually quite humorous now that I had come to my recent realization of-- how I figured-- that she felt.

"Yeah, really," I said, oozing sarcasm, "we are having _way_ too much fun watching Rob and Leah suck at their game."

"Hey!" They both protested at the same time, making us all chuckle at the sad truth. "Be nice." Leah added as Rob nodded.

"Yeah, be nice." Rob said. "Leah's _only_ doing _twice_ as bad as I am." He said, chuckling. She gasped, taking her hand away for a split second. It shot up, shoved him playfully, and returned to her playing in one swift movement. She chuckled, as he stumbled sideways a bit, shocked.

"Not doing so hot now, are you?" Nicolai asked, laughing. Rob shook his head, definitely not laughing, trying to regain playing... and failing. "Really, really not." Nicolai added, after a while, laughing.

"She startled me." He said, still stunned, as the song came to an end.

"Awe." Leah said, putting her guitar down. "Did I really?" She asked, mock sympathetically. He played up his look, jutting his lip out and lowering his head, truly looking pathetic-- before he nodded slowly. "Awe, I'm sorry." She said, chuckling. "Rematch?" She asked. He shook his head slowly. "Hug?" I watched him fight the corners of his mouth try and tug up, as he held his arms out, pathetically. She laughed and nodded. "Come here." She said, smiling; stepping over and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He wrapped his around her waist rather tightly, smiling into her hair. My heart twinged with happiness for her, and jealousy of them at the same time. When suddenly, Aiden's thumb brushed the back of my hand a few times, getting my attention. I glanced over to her, only to see her stick her tongue out at me, and look away, making me laugh. Unpredictable, I must say.

A pillow shot through the air, suddenly, hitting somewhere in-between Rob and Leah's heads, making them both jump.

"Get a room." Nicolai groaned, as Laine whacked the back of his head muttering something along the lines of 'inconsiderate.' Rob rolled his eyes, one arm still around Leah's back-- probably much to her pleasure-- and pointed the other hand in the general direction of Aiden and I.

"Hugging is inappropriate," he mused, rolling his eyes, "and yet, that...?" Nicolai glanced over my head to, indeed, see our intertwined hands, and gasped. He opened his mouth to speak something-- when Leah cut him off.

"So?" She asked, with a mock-cheery tone. "When are you two going to start showing off PDA's?" She asked, winking-- making herself laugh at her own comment. We all chuckled, as Rob rolled his eyes.

"They already show public displays of affection. They just have the whole 'best friend' facade to cover it up." He said, jokingly. However, only was chuckling.

Awkward.

Finally, Laine broke the awkward moment by laughing. "Wow." She said, simply, before breaking into another round of laughter. Nicolai soon joined her, followed by Aiden. Soon enough, we were all dying laughing. Reason? I'm sure that none of us actually remembered...

* * *

"We really should be getting gone." Nicolai stated, putting the toy guitar down and stretching.

"It is pretty late..." Rob agreed, sadly. "And I've got to drive these nuts home..." He added, nodding his head in the direction of Nicolai. Leah laughed and nodded-- sadly, as well.

"True." She said, smiling.

They had really bonded tonight. No questions asked, of course. If only my life could be that simple. I suddenly felt intrusive even looking at them. The way they simply looked at each other was deeper than most... It was heartfelt and personal. I quickly averted my gaze, landing my eyes on Aiden. It startled me to see her staring at her, humor dancing in her eyes.

"What?" I asked, suddenly self-conscious. She shook her head, and started to get up.

"Nothing." She said, as I helped pull her to her feet.

* * *

"See you tomorrow then." She stated, disappearing out the door.

"Tomorrow." Rob said, taking an extra second to smile at Leah, before turning and filing out after his friends. Leah, still smiling, shut the door. She turned around, glazed look in her eyes, as she pressed her back to the door, starting off in some random corner of my ceiling.

"Well that was..." My words were lost as-- quicker than I could blink-- I was wrapped in yet another Leah hug.

"Thank you! Oh, man, thank you for being born and for imprinting on such an awesome person- girl- and thank you for everything and for brining her here and for letting her have awesome friends and for making waffles and for everything!" She exclaimed-- so quickly, that I barely even caught it.

"Um, no problem?" I said, chuckling at her ecstatic-ness. She pulled away, and started to spin and dance in no pattern and to no rhythm whatsoever. "What are you doing?" I asked, hesitantly.

"I feel so... incredible!" She said, still twirling about in my small living room. "The only other thing I should possibly want to do right now is..." She suddenly stopped spinning, face going flat. I got to see the wicked grin of realization flash across her face for a mere second before she was gone. It a burst of air, she was gone; leaving my door wide open. I laughed, stripping off my shirt and socks, and jogging out after her.

* * *

Running is the most amazing feeling ever. It clears the mind, the heart, the soul. When you're running you think about nothing but the speed and agility, the reflexes, the adrenaline. Its the best high there could possibly be; adrenaline. So, we ran. We ran to the edge of the forest-- five counties over-- and back. We thought of nothing but the pure blissful feeling of love, happiness, and speed-- all collaborated into the whizzing by of trees and the blurring of the forest behind us. We ran.

* * *

We collapsed on my couch-- dirty and sweaty sitting next to grimy and filthy, both panting and tired, aching and sore-- smiling and laughing.

"See you tomorrow." She said, slinking off the couch towards the door.

"I'll meet you there." I replied, pushing off the couch and staggering to my bathroom. I heard the door click shut, and sighed to myself-- flipping the showerhead up, allowing pellets of water to suddenly sputter to life, raining down. Insane how this whole situation worked out; how our fate collided. Simply insane. I was so incredibly grateful for it.


	36. White Wall

**Chapter 35**

Laine stumbles into the room, analyzing the header at the top of the page and scratching her noggin. The giant virtual white washed wall display two simple letters. She reads the two large, bold-face words, and her brow creases in confusion.

"Haven't I seen a chapter 35 before?" She asked, utterly confused. "I'm almost sure that I did..." She trails off, thinking utterly too hard-- when Nicolai suddenly bursts through the door, alarm drenching his face.

"No!" He exclaims, sinking to his knees before the giant white wall, holding his head in his hands. "It must have been a hard-drive malfunction!" He yells, throwing his hands into the air. "We're back to thirty five??" He exclaims, starting to sob. "Where did it all go wrong!?"

A deep voice echoes from the hallway approaching the room.

"What's going on in here?" Chaz asks as he steps through the hallway. He instantly blinks back at the brightness of the nearly-empty screen. "What the...?" His voice trails off as his eyes adjust, allowing him to read the text. "What!?" He exclaims, as a tremor rips through his spine. "This had better be a mistake." He growls, trying to calm himself with a few soothing breaths.

"I don't understand..." Laine adds again, looking up at the two words. "How could this happen? I mean-- computer glitches and things but... you never think it'll happen to you..." She said, a tear forming in her eye. Nicolai, still in a fit of rage stands up quickly, starting to pace the length of the giant screen wall, muttering things under his breath.

"Of course it happened to us." Chaz growled, clenching his fists. "Of course!" He yelled, throwing his arms into the air. "0nly me." He mused, hands starting to shake more violently. "Only me."

All of their heads snap towards the door as a body stumbles through the doorway. A tall, but slender hooded figure, with hands clutching their head approaches the center of the room, stopping mid-step. Their head turns upward, and they spin around, squinting back at the walls from every angle, before you hear them curse under their breath.

"Wrong effing room, Ander. Way to go." He mumbles, shuffling back towards the door.

"What's up with him?" Chaz asks, pointing towards the pathetic boy.

"He still had a caffeine -migraine situation back in chapter 35!" Nicolai wailed, pointing towards the wall. "It's a sign-- a sign that I'm right! That the other chapters have been lost and we have to start back here." He whined.

"Gandhi." Ander hissed. "Shut. Up." He said, glaring. "I've got a flipping migraine here."

"So... do you know what's going on with this?" Laine whispered, pointing towards the two lonely words on the wall. Ander sighed, blinking up at the wall. Suddenly, his hands dropped from his head and his jaw fell open.

"No." He breathed. "No, no, no, no, nooooooo." He moaned, turning back to his friends with a pained face. Suddenly his face fell back into an indifferent state. "Do you really not know what's going on?" He asked, flatly.

"Um..." Nicolai offered, looking back at Laine.

"Mayyyyybe." Chaz said, looking back at the wall, as if he were missing something.

"Pshht. No one reads author notes anymore, do they?" He said, rolling his eyes. The three exchanged glances before lowering their heads in shame, shaking them slowly. "Didn't think so." He stated sadly. "You really need to read you memos, people. It will help you a lot."

Just then, Aiden entered the room with two cups in her hands.

"Hey there you guys are." She said with a big smile, as she handed Ander one of the cups. "And there is your coffee."

"Thanks." He said, with a shy smile. "I really was coming to get it, but I got lost, and a little side-tracked by these three." He said, nodding his head at the direction of the other three.

"Side-tracked how?" She asked, confused. Ander pulled the lid off of his coffee, blowing on the top of the steaming liquid.

"They didn't read their author notes." He said, before taking a sip of his beverage.

"Guys." Aiden said, shocked, and slightly disappointed. "Is this true?" The three simply nodded, eyes still cast downward.

"We thought we had to go back to chapter 35..." Laine admitted embarrassed. Aiden simply laughed, shaking her head.

"Oh, what am I going to do with you?" She chuckled. "No, just for clarification, we are _not_ going back to chapter thirty five." The informed them. "You see, andixcore just finished revising the story."

"I don't understand." Nicolai admitted.

"Well the concept isn't that hard." She explained. "She just went over and corrected mistakes, changed a few sequences, and combined chapters."

"Changed a few sequences!?" Chaz exclaimed. "No! It worked the first time! Why-"

"Silence!" Aiden commanded, pointing her index finger at him. "It's still the same story, okay?" She reassured them all. "The author only changed minor details to make certain things sound better, alright?"

"Alright." Chaz breathed. "But what about this combining deal?" He asked, worried. She shrugged, sipping at her coffee.

"Again, no big deal." She assured him. "She just combined a few of the shorter chapters to make the total number of chapters smaller. Chapters like "Stupid Paul" and "Evil Glares, Evil Smiles" are now combined into one larger chapter. It's easier to read, too." She explained.

"Well, I guess that makes sense." Laine said, nodding. Nicolai and Chaz nodded along with her.

"Now, you'll all read you memos, won't you?" Ander said, smiling. They all nodded again, and Aiden chuckled.

"Good." She said, turning to walk out of the room. "Oh! By the way." She said, looking back at Chaz. "The author is looking for you in the writing room." He groaned, shuffling his feet to the door.

"What is the next sequence about?" He whined. "Please, not another school scene!" Aiden chuckled, shaking her head.

"First of all, it's Sunday." She said. "And second of all, it's the one about Alex." His face brightened at that, and he disappeared out the door. "If you read you memo you would know what!" Aiden called out after him-- but he was already gone.

**(a/n)  
Gonna read you author notes, now aren't you? Yeah, I thought so. Look for Chapter 35 soon! In the mean time, you cuold look through and see my minor changes that I made. Thanks for not giving up on me! Updates are soon. Love, love, love. **


	37. Hello Again

****

Chapter 35

"Hello Again"

Saturday December 6th

APOV

Laine walked back into my living room, phone in hand, laughing hysterically.

"So, let me get this strait." Laine said, plopping down into one of the recliners. "Rob is driving you crazy with talk of Leah?" She asked, all too loudly, looking smugly in my direction. I huffed, rolled my eyes and walked over to apprehend the phone. "No way!" She exclaimed sarcastically. "You think he's smitten about Leah because he won't shut up about her? Oh and you're sick of it? Really?" She asked, throwing more and more looks my way.

"That's it." I said, snatching the phone from her hand. "Either you come over or stop calling." I said, clicking it off before Nicolai could utter another word.

"That was very rude." Laine said shaking her head. "I'm deeply hurt." She said, painting on the drama.

"Alright, I get your point." I said, rolling my eyes. "Rob is crazy about Leah." She scoffed at that. "Yeah, I know that's not your point." I admitted, flipping on the TV.

"Do you?" She asked, seriously.

"Yeah. So I'm crazy about Chaz. You were right, blah, blah, blah." I said, dryly, muting the TV. "Want to talk about you and Nicolai?" I asked, challengingly. Shocked, she opened her mouth. "Didn't think so." I added, smugly, before she could speak.

"That's not the same subject." She said, rolling eyes in an attempt to brush it off.

"You keep telling yourself that." I replied, turning back up the volume.

* * *

****

Sunday December 7th

"Aiden." I felt my body be shaken lightly as my name was being called. I forced my eyes open, blinking rapidly at the blurry figure in front of me and groaned. "Aid." Laine cooed, wake-up. I groaned again and rolled over, hitting the ground with a hard thud.

"Ow!" I jumped up fast, curling back up on the couch, rubbing my now-throbbing elbow. "See what you made me do?" I mumbled, sadly. I heard Laine huff from behind me, probably rolling her eyes as well.

"Rob called about a half hour ago saying that he was expecting us over." She said, shaking my shoulder yet again. "Nicolai is here picking me up, so me and Ranger are leaving. So get up, sleepy." I swatted he hand off, curling back up in my blanket and replied through my yawn.

"Go ahead." I yawned. "Take Ranger... have fun..." I said, sleepily.

"How will you get there?"

"I don't know." I said, stubborn, sleepy and annoyed.

"Well you better be ready soon." I heard her call, as her voice disappeared through the door. "Chaz is going to be here to pick you up in about a half hour." I reacted before I could think, instantly sitting up, surprised.

"Chaz?" I asked, startled.

"Yeah. Rob invited him and _Leah_ over." She said, as though it should have been blatantly obvious.

"Right." I said, nodding, as I stood up, rushing into my room. I quickly showered, dressed, and evaluated myself in the mirror several times before exiting my room. I hurried upstairs, grabbing a banana as a fast breakfast, and checked out the front window for any sign of a car.

Nothing. I sighed, settling down on the steps for him to arrive.

Suddenly, the phone rang, making me jump. I dashed into the kitchen, picking the cordless off the receiver and answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Aid!" Leah said, excitedly.

"Hey Leah... what's up?"

"We're running a bit late, but we'll be there to pick you up soon." She promised sweetly.

"No problem."

"Alright, see you!" She said, before the phone clicked off. I shrugged, hanging up the phone and went back to sit on the stairs.

* * *

"Come on, come on." I chanted, drumming my fingers against the stair rail. "Where are you?" I asked, standing up to pace. My, I was being impatient, wasn't I? I got only a few steps into my impatient pace when I heard a sudden knock on the door. I breathed a sigh, half out of surprise, half of relief, and yanked the door open, only to freeze in place.

"Hey Aidey." He said, offering a confidant smile. I openly grimaced at the sound of my name coming out of his mouth.

"Go away." I said flatly, starting to close the door.

"Awe, don't be like that." He said, gripping his hand on the edge of the door. "I just came by to say hey. Maybe talk a little." He said, trying to fake a pout. It definitely did not work. I opened my mouth to speak, when something better came to mind. I turned my head the slightest and whistled into the house, before remembering that Ranger was with Laine. I cursed in my head, thinking of a back up plan.

"You don't still have that _dog_ do you?" He asked, disgusted, and a bit scared at the thought.

"Yes." I said, sternly.

"But I didn't get to tell you the best part." He said, smiling wickedly.

"I'm sure that I don't care." I said, truthfully, starting to shut the door once more. He simply increased his grip on the doorframe, opening the door up more.

"So, Arriannah is transferring to the school on the Rez." He said, casually. "Weird thing!" He said, faking surprise. "Because, I just transferred, too!" He said, smiling yet again. I glared at him, mentally picturing all the possible ways to torture him, when suddenly he sighed, letting to of the doorframe. "So, I'll see you at school." He said, winking, before he turned around and walked down the front steps.

I huffed, slamming the door, and plopped down onto the stairs. What torture school will be now with that.. _thing_ being there. I shuttered at the thought, as I heard a car door shut outside. Before I was even the two steps to the door, a knock came from the other side. _Well, that was certainly fast,_ I thought, opening the door.

"Hey, chicky." Leah said, smiling. "Ready to go?" I nodded, locking my door and shutting it behind me. It was then that I noticed the unfamiliar car at the curb.

"Whose car...?" I asked, as we neared the large car.

"Chaz." Leah stated, as though it should have been obvious. I simply nodded, reaching for the side-door handle, when Leah tapped my shoulder. I looked over as she opened the passenger door, motioning me to get it.

"Thanks." I said, climbing up into the SUV, as she shut my door, and got in the door behind me. I looked over to see Chaz behind the wheel, smiling broadly.

"Hey." He said, sweetly.

"Hey," I said, buckling my seatbelt. "New car?" I asked, looking around at the spotlessness of it. I heard him sigh as he started the engine back up, and put it in gear.

"My mom's." He stated, flatly. "The 2005 Isuzu Ascender 7-Passenger" He added. "They delivered it today." He said, as we started to drive away.

"The stuff just keeps coming." Leah said, unenthused.

"Wow." I said, imagining his house with more stuff crammed into it. "How much more is there?" I heard Leah scoff, and Chaz sighed.

"Too much." He said, shaking his head.

"What are you doing to do with it all?" I asked, curiously.

"Well..." He started, as he slowed down to turn onto another road. "I'm probably going to build some more onto my house." He explained. "A garage, another bedroom, maybe a bathroom, expand the living room. I'd really like to do a lot- but we'll see what happens. Don't want to get too in over my head." He said, chuckling.

"And after that?" I asked.

"Oh I'm having a lot of stuff sent to storage in Olympia." He said, pausing to turn onto another road. "See, my parent's company just moved down there, so they have storage and stuff. And I'm planning on just having an auction or something, I don't know." He said, shrugging.

"And your car...?"

"You mean my dad's car?" He asked. I nodded. "Sold." He said, triumphantly. "And gone." He added, smiling. We came to a stop, and Chaz killed the engine. He pointed to the brick house we were stopped in front of. "Is this it?" He asked. I nodded and unbuckled my seatbelt, climbing out of the car.

* * *

Nicolai and Laine left around three or four to go with Ander to see this movie he's been wanting to go see. So it was me, Leah, Chaz and Rob hanging out. We told stories, played games, watched TV, ate, and laughed a lot.

I was about to get up to go use the bathroom when my phone went off. I excused myself and stepped out into the kitchen to answer it, seeing that it was my mom who was calling me.

"Hey mom what's going on?"

"Oh nothing." She said, sounding a bit strange. "I just got back from my trip and thought you would be home is all."

"Oh. I'm over at Rob's." I said. "But I could come home if you needed me to." I added. "Ranger is here with me." I added-- like she cared.

"Oh, well that's nice."

"Is everything alright?" I asked, a bit worried at the strange tone in her voice

"Oh no! Everything is fine. I found out today about some news about the company, but its no big deal. Just rumors. Anyway, you have fun, I think I'll head over to your aunt's to have a chat. See you hon." I said goodbye just before the phone clicked off into silence. I sighed, leaning back into one of the kitchen barstools. I know she said everything was fine... but something about how she sounded just didn't settle with me quite right...

"You alright Aid?" I jumped at the sound of Leah's name, quickly brushing off my surprise.

"Yeah I'm fine." I said, giving her a quick smile.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked suddenly, checking twice over her shoulder. I nodded encouragingly, prodding her on.

"How cute is Rob??" She mused, sounding like a hyper pre-teen. I laughed along with her, shaking my head.

"You two are definitely cute." I said, nodding, making my way back to the living room."

"Yeah, well I hear you and Chaz aren't so bad yourselves." She said, adding a wink. I simply shook my head, going back to my seat on the couch next to Ranger.

* * *

A few more hours passed by unnoticed. That is, until I got a glance at the clock, and remembered that tomorrow was Monday. I sighed, and tapped Chaz on the shoulder. His eyes instantly snapped to mine, and my thoughts started to blur. What was I thinking again? The dark flame of his eyes seemed to entrance me, making it difficult to use my brain at all. This wasn't so bad, though. Not at all. I could most definitely stay here for a good, long while. Maybe forever...

"Yes?" Chaz asked, snapping me out of my stupor.

"Its getting kind of late... and we have school tomorrow..." I said, suddenly fumbling over my words.

"Oh. No problem." He said, grinning. He pushed off the couch and extended his hand. I took it-- my skin still tingled at the touch-- allowing him to help me to my feet. Though, once I was standing, instead of dropping my hand, he twisted his fingers, slipping them through mine. My heart sighed, before quickly accelerating. "Hey, Leah," he said, getting her attention, "Aiden's got to get home so-"

"Alright." She breathed, turning back to Rob. "Guess I'm leaving." Rob started to say something when Chaz's hand suddenly left mine, as his arm slid around my shoulders.

"We'll be in the car." He announced. I whistled at Ranger, who instantly jumped up and followed us as we departed back outside. As we reached the car, I expected to reach out for my door handle, but it was soon replaced with air.

"You know-- I can open my own door." I informed him, climbing into the passenger seat. He simply nodded, letting Ranger in the backseat and closing my door for me. Before I had a hand on my seatbelt, I felt a small burst of air, as Chaz closed the drivers side door. _How the...?_

"I know." He stated, buckling his seatbelt, and starting the ignition. "But I did it anyway." He said, flashing me a killer grin. How can I argue with that? Exactly; I can't.


	38. Alex: Take 2

****

Chapter 36

"Alex: Take 2"

Monday December 8th

CPOV

As I strode into school, a particular group of guys caught my attention. For some reason, they made my stomach a little more than uneasy. I kept advancing onward, hearing their conversation. One in particular caught my eye. I didn't recognize him in the slightest. He was average height, with dark skin and short, dark and spiky hair, with dark, creepy eyes.

"Oh, you know," The unrecognizable boy was bragging.

"Seriously?" Luke asked, laughing wickedly. "That's... dude." He gushed, giving the boy a high-five.

"You're seriously getting that?" Max asked, grinning like an idiot. _Perverts, _I thought, picking up my pace a bit.

"She'll come around." The boy said, confidently. "She wants me. She knows it." He bragged. "I'm just going to get her to realize it." He said, smugly.

"Yeah, and how's that?" Luke asked, skeptically.

"I have my ways." He said, suggestively. I was about to pass their small group "discussion" when I heard Aiden's name pop up. I stopped dead in my tracks, and leaned on the locker directly next to the mystery boy. "She's just in denial, man. She-" He stopped speaking, mid sentence, and glanced over at me. I simply smiled warmly, folding my arms.

"Girl trouble, huh?" I asked, fighting my assumptions, and trying hard to pull off a façade. I saw Luke's face lighten a few shades and heart Max's heart rate pick up quickly, as did those of the other few huddled around.

"Yeah..." He trailed off.

"Awe man, me too." I said, rolling my eyes. "They just can't accept what's there, an they?" I said, giving him an annoyed look. He chuckled, easing up a bit.

"Yeah, but we have our ways of "convincing" them, am I right?" He said, winking. I suddenly started to feel sick to my stomach. _Façade, _I reminded myself, _façade, façade, façade. _

"You've got a difficult girl then, huh?"

"Oh, unbelievable." He said, exasperated. "But it does make it a little more... challenging." He said, smugly. "By the time I'm done- Aidy will believe me to be the man." I instantly fought against every instinct I had-- tremoring, phasing, ripping his head off-- and tried hard to force a chuckle.

"Strange name." I forced through my teeth. "Got one of those unpredictable girls huh?" Forcing another chuckle.

"Yeah, Aiden is a bit off the wall, but sometimes that's a good thing." He said, elbowing me. "You know what I mean?" It clicked, and I snapped all in the same millisecond. He was suddenly pinned against the lockers, being help up by his shirt so that he was eye-level with me.

"If you _ever_... even _touch_... Aiden..." I threatened, half growling and harshly fighting tremors threatening to rip through my spine. "You will experience pain... like you never imagined... ever _existed_..." I growled, watching the color drain from his face. I suddenly felt myself starting to loose control and dropped him, allowing him to become nothing more than a pile on the floor. I leaned down close, glowering. "Never." I growled again before quickly standing up and turning to the other guys huddled around. "You didn't see anything take place here, right?" I asked, challengingly. They all shook their heads furiously, and I nodded. "Right." I said, before turning to walk away. I heard their murmuring as I walked away.

"Who _was_ that guy??" The boy demanded. I turned around to glance at them one more time-- when the doors of the school opened, blowing in an icy wind, mixed with the scent of lilac and cinnamon. I instantly stopped in my tracks and whirled around, watching Aiden walk through the entryway. I glanced back at the boy, who still seemed pretty pissed off, harshly whispering to his friends. Seeing that he didn't take any notice to her entrance, I turned my attention back to Aiden.

I watched as she caught a glimpse of him, instantly lowering her eyes. She flipped her hood over her head and started to pick up her pace. I quietly chuckled that she hadn't yet noticed me standing in her path, and waited to see if she would simply run into me. As she approached, however, seeing my shoes, no doubt, I saw her veer her path slightly as to walk around me. However, I stuck my arm out to the side, catching her as she tried to pass me. Startled, she took a small step backwards as her head jerked up in my direction.

"Chaz!" She said, excitedly, breaking into a smile. She grinned happily, reaching her arms towards my neck for a hug. I instantly realized that she was too short, and easily lifted her up with one arm, allowing her to wrap her arms around and bury her face in my neck. My heart stopped for a moment, soaking up the pure feeling of euphoria. Whether she was really that happy to see me, or she was playing it up due to the mystery boy, I didn't know, but I wasn't about to argue. Though, I was hoping it was mostly the former.

"Mmm," She mumbled, burying her nose in my neck. My skin tingled at the touch, sending electricity down my spine.

"Eep! Cold nose!" I squeaked, shocked at the cold temperature. She simply laughed and nestled further, hugging me tighter. I laughed, rocking back and forth a bit, causing her legs to sway thru the air.

"I think we're starting to make a scene." I whispered in low into her hear, chuckling as I glanced up, seeing the boy glare over his shoulder. I heard her heart rate pick up, before she sighed in defeat. I put her gently back onto the ground as her arms slid off my shoulders, I looked down at her slightly pouting face. "No," I groaned, "don't _do_ that to me..." I pleaded.

"Do what?" She asked, as her gaze only increased. I started to melt into her eyes-- when she suddenly chuckled, grabbed my hand and started to walk away. I snapped out of my stupor, grabbing her hand with my other, and sliding my right arm over her shoulders.

"So," I asked, as we approached my locker, "care to explain why you didn't tell me about... what's his name?" I asked. She suddenly broke my gaze, looking towards the wall as she shrugged.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said, nonchalantly, dropping my hand and leaning against the locker next to mine. I huffed, turning her face back towards mine with one finger.

"That," I said, searching her eyes, "is a lie." I stated. "And we both know it." She rolled her eyes, looking away yet again.

"So what." She said, shrugging. "So I know him. Big deal."

"And he knows you."

"What's your point, Chaz?" She asked, trying to act annoyed.

"You obviously don't like him in the least." I stated, watching the flash of emotion across her face at the accusation. "Maybe that may have something to do with him saying unmentionable things about you." I stated, seeing an angry fire find her eyes. "Or not." I said shrugging. "But whatever it _is_," I said, turning her face back towards mine yet again, "I wish you wouldn't try to hide it." I said, feeling a bout of anger tingle up my spine; thinking of the things that the boy was implying about her.

"If I hadn't heard him talking this morning- I wouldn't have even known about him- or the fact that he knew you." I sad, remembering his words earlier. "I don't want you do have to deal with stuff like that- people like that." I said, staring deep into her eyes, trying to get the measure of my emotion across to her. "I really care about you, Aiden." I said softly, a smile starting to form on my lips. "That's my point." I said, brushing a loose strand of her hair back behind her ear. I heard her heartbeat pick up, and she smiled up at me, nodding.

I smiled back, and leaned down pressing my lips to her forehead, before taking her hand. We walked to class unspeaking. She didn't say anything, but she didn't have to. I understood by the look in her eyes that she understood. She understood that I was more than her friend, more than a boyfriend-- though that had never been brought up. She could trust me. I would protect her. And I loved her. Even if she didn't know, in so many words, she understood. For now, that would work.


	39. Shut Up

****

Chapter 37

"Shut Up"

Friday December 12

CPOV

The last few days had been pretty normal. Well, as normal as it can get when you're a teenage werewolf who imprinted on a girl you knew nothing about, who is now trying to get to know her so that he can explain this to her, whose parents suddenly died, leaving everything to you, forcing you to figure what in the world they really wanted done with it. Regardless, the last few days were normal. I got plans laid out for an extension on my small house, and the boy from the hall, who came to be known as Alex, had not caught eye contact with neither Aiden nor I since Monday. I call that productive.

The middle of fourth hour today, however, after three hours on me questioning Aiden as to why she didn't look like she felt very well, she finally admitted it was because she, in fact, did not feel well. I immediately insisted that she go home and get some rest. She protested, of course, but I finally told the teacher that I was escorting her to the office and that was that. I offered to sign myself out of school and take her home, but she refused. The office attendant, however, seeing Aiden's pale, sickly face, offered her own input. As the bell rang for lunch, I, free to leave school grounds, escorted Aiden to my car. I drove her the short distance to her house, opened her door, which she recently admitted to hating, and escorted her to her front door.

"Honestly," She said, turning to look at me as she unlocked her door, "I can take it from here, Chaz."

"Alright," I said, still uneasy at the thought of leaving her home alone-- and sick, no less. I turned to walk away, but instantly whirled back around. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay? Are you sure you're going to be okay? You don't want me to get Laine out of school? Or call your mom? Your aunt? Anyone?" I asked, as my worry suddenly became more uneasy than ever.

"I just have a migraine, Chaz." She said, giving me a tiny, reassuring smile. "They make me nauseous sometimes..." She said, shrugging. "I'll take some meds and be better in a couple hours. Or maybe just sleep it off." She said, pushing her door open. "Really," she reassured me, "I'll be fine." I nodded, defeated.

"Alright... but if you need anything, I mean _anything," _I said, taking out my phone and pointing to it. "Call me." I told her. She gave me another tiny smile and nodded once.

"I will." She said, turning to walk into her house.

"You want me to-" She turned back around, as I spoke suddenly. "Come by after school?" I asked, realizing that I sounded like an over-protective manic at the moment. "Just in case you're... I mean I can. If you want." I added. She simply nodded slightly.

"Yeah, sure." She said, smiling slightly. "See you then." She said, before turning back around and disappearing inside.

xxx

I barely ate anything at lunch, and didn't concentrate on one word that the teacher said in fifth period. I was too preoccupied trying to keep myself inside the walls of the school. My mind was far from those doors, however. My mind, my heart, my life was about for blocks away-- probably miserably lying around on a couch, too. My chest slightly heaved at the thought. _What are you doing here? _Aiden told me to come back to school. _And you think she knows what's best for her? _Well... um...

That's was it. I had to leave. I quickly slid my book and pen into my bag, buckling it shut. I was about to stand up when Nicolai suddenly tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around, annoyed.

"What?" I hissed. Though, he didn't seem phased by my bad mood. He just looked at me with a slightly alarmed expression and glanced around a bit, before relying to me.

"You know Alex is supposed to be in this class, right?" He asked, slightly alarmed.

"Um..." I glanced around the room, not seeing him, and returned to Nicolai. "So?" I asked, not understanding what he was getting at.

"He's not here." He stated.

"I'm aware." I said, glancing back at the front of the class for a moment. "Again I ask, so?" I asked, a bit irritated at this conversation. I needed to get to Aiden. The unsettled feeling in my stomach had only grown since I had left her doorstep. By now it was eating a whole through my stomach, tearing away at my conscience.

"He was here this morning." He said, looking back around the room. "And I could have sworn I saw him before class..." He said, trailing off. Of course it clicked, and my mind instantly jumped to the worst of conclusions. I said a quick thanks to Nicolai and jumped up. I told the teacher a lame excuse for leaving school and rushed to the office. I signed myself out, literally sprinting across the parking lot. I didn't even bother to hassle with starting my car. I ran right out of the parking lot, across the road, and into the woods.

I was fighting tremors by now, as I sped, full speed in the direction of Aiden's house. I whipped past the trees through the woods behind the houses on the main road, whose occupants were completely oblivious. As I neared the back perimeter of Aiden's house I slowed. I threw my shoes off in a blur. However, before I could do anything else, an un-fightable tremor spiraled through my spine, and I phased instantly. I growled under my breath as I tore my bag open, grabbing my spare cut-offs with my teeth and dashed to the property line behind Aiden's house. My breath caught as I caught sight of figures in the back yard. It took several moments for me to phase back, throwing on my cut offs.

"He'll never know." I heard the all-too familiar voice say, and a tremor ripped through my spine once again. I had to fight against my instincts of phasing, breathing hard, and concentration on human thoughts. I looked down for a split second to button my jeans, as I heard a horrible sound. My head snapped up instantly, in time to see his hands force my angel's back against the backdoor. Before I could blink, he was face-down on the cement, as I was over him, shaking violently. A string of profanities shot out of his mouth instantly-- panicked, angry, and pleading all at once.

"SHUT. UP." I spat--the words ripping a growl through my chest. He tried to speak, but I stopped him, lifting his head a bit, before shoving his bloody head back against the cement. "I. Said. Shut. Up." I growled again. Stupidly testing my patience, he tried once again to speak. My fist acted before I could think. It collided with the cement easily, causing a loud crunching thud and a basketball sized crater in it directly next to his head. "I warned you." I told him through clenched teeth, before lowering my face dangerously close to his ear. Death threats spilled off my tongue in waves-- ending somewhere along the lines of sending after him a pack of angry, rabid wolves on steroids.

I then stepped off of him, pulling him to his feet by his hair, and shoving him in the direction of the side yard. He never looked back, simply took off running-- tripping over his own feet three times before he was out of sight. I took several deep breaths, trying to clear my head and calm the tremors-- when I instantly remembered Aiden. I took one more deep breath and slowly turned to face her.


	40. Cheers

**A/N**

**Sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry !**

Its been eons since I've updated on anything, I know, I know. I apologize. Honestly, its insane I know. Its just been a crazy summer so far. That should be no excuse, you're perfectly right. But! You should be happy to know that I am updating this story! _**cheers**_

**I have the next chapter or two- and I shall be putting them up ASAP ! **_( Thank you people who haven't given up on me!! I shall love you until the day I die. ) _

**Thanks for your patience!  
****Love, Love, Love, Love,  
(More soon!!)  
-andixcore**


	41. Some Kind of Superhero

****

Chapter 38

"Some Kind of Superhero"

Friday December 12

APOV

As confused as I was in trying to decipher what had just taken place before my eyes, there were two things that my brain seemed to register as correct. For starters, whatever that commotion just was- it, Chaz, had just saved be from whatever could have happened; he was protecting me. Number two, it was, in fact, Chaz. As scary as he may have looked just now, I wasn't afraid of him. I didn't understand why- but my mind decided that I didn't need to. So, I shut down my whirling mind and allowed my migraine to calm back down.

It was then that his body and gaze turned towards me cautiously; hesitantly. He raised his hands up in a surrendering gesture and looked at me carefully as he took a small step in my direction.

"Aiden?" He asked softly. "Don't... be afraid..." he stuttered, as a look of pain shot across his features. I simply shook my head slowly. The look of remorse only increased at that. He opened his mouth to speak- when I could will myself no more.

I quickly leaped forward, wrapping my arms around his torso, clinging to him tightly. I heard his breath catch and felt his muscles stiffen for only a mere second, before I felt his arms slide slowly around me, pulling me closer. The natural heat of his body instantly warmed my icy skin and turned the blistering wind across my arms into nothing but hot air. My clenched hands then opened, pressing against his skin as I hugged him tighter. It was only then that I registered his lack of a shirt. As soon as this realization struck me, my body seemed to react, feeling more intently than ever his burning skin against my hands, arms, face, neck, and shoulders; every bare patch of skin exposed by my mere tank top felt caught on fire by the electricity. My heart instantly accelerated, and I felt blood rush to my face, neck and ears.

His embrace slightly loosened, and I felt his large warm hands grip my shoulders- sending a bolt of flightily electricity through my stomach- as he pulled back to look at me. As he did so, I tried- and failed- at focusing on merely his face. My eyes instinctively wandered away from his face, downward over his bare chest and abs. Eventually, my eyes found their way back to his face, seeing a smug smile that had found his expression. It was then I realized what I had just done. My cheeks felt aflame again as I quickly averted my gaze, off his shoulder towards the tree line. I tried hard to focus on anything but the image of shirtless Chaz that was now dominating every brainwave I had. As well as trying to ignore the burning and tingling sensation that was my skin seemed to still be basking in at the feeling of his touch. I heard his sweet, deep laugh resonate through his chest, and my eyes instantly snapped back to him- only to be averted yet again. Once again, I caught eyes straying and quickly glanced back to his face, only to find the smug smile still there.

"I'm starting to feel a little violated," he joked, winking at me. I shrugged, clearing my throat to make sure I could speak.

"Wear clothes then." I challenged, before smiling back up at him. I was trying excessively hard to keep my gaze there when it suddenly dawned on me. "Wait... Why aren't you...?" I asked, trailing off. He simply laughed once more, shaking his head.

"All this and more- coming up on- 'Why is Chaz in my backyard?' " He said, in a mock game show-host voice. I just shook my head at his humor, allowing him to usher us both inside. He led us into the basement; down the stairs, through the office and hallway, into my large basement's living room. I started to move to sit down on the long couch when he stopped me. "You really haven't registered what just happened recently, have you?"

"Its still processing." I answered, honestly. He sighed, yet again, stepping forward. He took my face in his two large, very warm hands and tilted my chin up so as to look him in the eyes.

"Before it processes too much, I have some things I should really try to explain..." He said slowly, eyes scanning my face. "Alright?" He asked, waiting for reassurance, as he dropped his hands.

"Like what?" I asked, stepping back and sitting down into the sofa. Chaz didn't sit at first, he simply stared off at the far wall, biting his lip and running his hand through his hair.

"Its… very hard to explain…" I waited patiently for him to think, as I failed, once again, at controlling my eyes. First of all, he looked utterly distraught; sadly so. Secondly, he looked like a pure and complete Greek god at the moment. That is, if there was ever a picture of a Greek god in cut off jeans? I highly doubted it. But nonetheless, he was beautiful. Not that he wasn't beautiful before, because, oh, he was. It was just that, at the moment, my heart and head were not at all thinking straight. His perfectly sculpted chest and abs, beautifully chiseled face and features, the way his silky black hair fell, the deep tan of his skin, the low rise of his jeans...

I forced my eyes away suddenly, mentally scolding myself. I felt my heart accelerate, and heard Chaz chuckle softly. Was it that loud? Could he hear my heartbeat from there? I felt blood rush to my face at the thought, embarrassed as ever. I heard him sigh, sounding defeated, as I then felt the couch sink a bit lower under his weight and side glanced at him as he sat beside me. My skin seemed to sense the warmth of his, and leaned involuntarily towards him. I caught myself, and willed to pull away, when I felt his arm slide around my shoulders. My heart leapt as he scooted closer, pulling me into his warm side. I wanted to protest, but I just couldn't seem to deny the warmth, and leaned against him, nestling into his side. My mind wandered from there, through everything happening now, to every second of the event that had just happened. The images played over several times, only getting more jumbled and confusing as they went along.

****

CPOV

"Chaz?" Aiden asked softly, breaking my thought pattern.

"Yes?"

"I... I don't have to know everything..." She spoke softly, as if she was embarrassed of her words. "But... can I get a few answers?" She asked, carefully, sitting up to look at my face. "Please?" I smirked at her worried expression, and lifted my finger to her forehead, smoothing out the concerned crease in her brow.

"Of course." I said, offering her a small smile. "I can't promise I'll be able to answer... but I can try." I offered.

****

APOV

"Why are you so... hot?" I asked, pressing the back of my hand to his cheek. "You can't be sick, because, well, you look fine." I elaborated. "And, you're always this hot." I said, thinking of how he could take my words the wrong way.

"I have a high body temperature." He said, grinning. "It helps with the not-being-sick thing." He said, winking.

"So, does that mean your body can... repair itself faster too?" I asked, thinking of the benefits of a high-temperature. His face looked shocked for a mere half a second before he laughed, nodding his head.

"Yes, it most certainly does." He said, sounding amazed.

"Is that why you're not wearing any clothes in the middle of December?" I asked, dryly. "Too hot for a shirt?"

"I believe the term is 'too sexy for my shirt'." He added sarcastically. I rolled my eyes at his humor, thinking of what else to ask.

"So... what you're saying is... You have a higher running body temperature than should be normal. So much so that not even this December cold bothers you... And you can heal faster than most people..." I said, thinking as I spoke. "Are you trying to tell me that you're some kind of superhero or something?" I asked, laughing at myself. He shook his head, but the humor had faded from his face.

"I'm also telling you that I'm not only more hot-blooded than most people, and have a stronger immune system," he said, seriously, "I'm also stronger and faster, and more dangerous than them as well."

"Wait what?" I asked, confused. I couldn't tell whether he was trying to joke around, or if not, what in the world he was talking about. His expression was not hard. Though, the look in his eyes did seem pained. What was he trying to say…?

"I'm not normal, Aid." He stated, sadly, as he took my hands in his. "You know this, you had to have sensed this- the gang? Yeah, not normal..." His blank expression started to scare me. What was he talking about? I laughed nervously, trying to ease my own emotions.

"Are you saying that you're a _band_ of superheroes?" I joked. "Or you're a _real gang_?" He didn't laugh, simply shook his head slowly and sighed.

"No, Aiden... I'm saying we're... not..." He sighed, frustrated, and ran one of his hands through his hair, thinking hard. I tried to piece together what he was trying to say. Not what? Not normal? Stronger than most people... He definitely _looked_ like he was strong. Plus, that would explain how he created a crater in my cement. Which would mean that I wasn't just seeing things, or dreaming them up. This was all happening... Fast? Well, he had come out of nowhere to apprehend Alex... But what was he trying to explain? What did this all mean? He wasn't... He wasn't what?? Suddenly, his eyes lit up and, faster than I had ever seen him move before, jumped up off the couch, smiling.

"Are there any old clothes in your brothers room by chance?" He asked, eyes dancing with anticipation. What did that have to do with anything? I sighed internally, too confused to try and figure it out and nodded. "Great!" He said, grinning. "Now... Aiden..." He said, kneeling down in front of me, where his face was almost level with mine, he took my face in his hands once again. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course." I responded immediately, not even thinking before the words blurted out of my mouth. "I mean... well... yes." I added, embarrassed. His grin reappeared, and he nodded, eyes ablaze more than ever, as he stood up, pulling me up as well. "Good." He said, elated, before spinning me around and gently pushing me in the direction of my room. "Put something warmer on and... I'll be in your kitchen, alright?" I mumbled a feeble response and closed the door shut behind me. My head pounded slightly, as it proceeded to answer the most complicated of questions. _Oh, Don't even try, Aiden, don't even try,_ I told myself, rubbing my forehead as I pulled open my closet.


	42. All You Want

**You are all amazing for reading this, and not giving up on me.  
****Much love,  
****andixcore**

**Chapter 39**

**"All you want"**

**Friday, December 12**

**CPOV**

As soon as her bedroom door had clicked behind her, I spun around and flew through the hallway, office, then up the stairs, around the corner, through the kitchen and entryway, and up the steps leading to the upstairs. Feeling slightly intrusive, I quickly opened each of the four doors and peered briefly inside, finding an office, what I assumed to be her mother's room, and another bathroom, before finding the room I was looking for. I stepped inside the nearly empty room. Its only inhabitants were an old wooden dresser with its vacant drawers lying stacked at its side, and a naked metal bed frame, both proudly displaying dust that I assumed to be years old in the making. I quickly rummaged the open closet, finding two old button-up shirts, three un-matching socks and a pair of bleach-stained and spotted old drawstring sweats. Perfect. I folded the sweats in half and, with a quick flick of my wrist, ripped them off to about knee-length. I then swiftly changed from my jeans into the sweats. Admiring my tailoring job, I wondered how Aiden's brother would mind. _Not that they are going to last too awful much longer,_ I thought. _Oh, poor sweatpants. _

Just as I stopped at the back door, I heard whistling coming from the basement. Not too much longer, and I heard footsteps ascending the basement stairs. Aiden emerged shortly, wearing a thick sweatshirt, jeans and a pair of old combat boots. As soon as she saw me, she gave me a look mixed with confusion and question. But, she quickly shook it off, stopping in front of the back door. I smiled a wry smile, trying not to think of what I was about to do, as I opened the back door, gesturing for her to go first.

"Of course we're going outside," she mumbled to herself as she started out the door.

Somewhere in-between the back door and the tree-line her hand found mine, and I looked down to see her giving me a small reassuring smile. As if to say, 'you're acting really crazy, and most people would be utterly freaked out by this point, and I'm not going to lie, I'm a little worried about your strange behavior, _but I'm trusting you_.' I simply smiled back, as nervous energy flitted around in my stomach like a wild flock of bats. Is it a flock? Or a gaggle, like geese? Wait, _wild_ bats? Is there a such things as _non-_wild bats? Do you think anyone has ever had a pet bat or something? _Chaz!_ Right, sorry, no mind wandering right now.

We walked mostly in silence, except for Aiden carelessly whistling a tune I didn't recognize. We walked about a mile and a half or so into the thickening trees until I found what I had been looking for. We stepped past the last few trees, and into the small clearing. It wasn't very big, maybe a bit more than half the area of a football field. Only it was longer towards the right and smaller towards the left; an irregular triangle shape almost. Aiden's eyes widened and she turned towards me, giving me yet another questioning look.

I took a deep breath, turning towards her, as she looked at me expectantly. I took my jean shorts off my shoulder where I had been carrying them, and slung them over hers. Taking both of her hands into one of mine, I pulled my other had up to the side of her face, stroking her cheek. Her blood started to pump faster instantly, as her breathing slightly faltered. I thought of everything I had done to get her to like me, to trust me, and how I might potentially be about to destroy all of it. My heart ached at the thought of the look on her face as she was facing Alex; mad on the outside, but underneath, her eyes were scared, pained and afraid. How would it feel to have that expression staring back at me? Tremors fought to break though the surface, but I pushed back with just as much force, evening out the pain. I took another deep breath, and stared deep into her emerald eyes.

"Aiden?" I asked, trying as hard as possible to even my tone. She had no idea the pain involved in this decision, the things my heart and head were struggling with right now. The emotions were swirling in a fit of rage, begging to be let out, as the beast under my skin clawed at the surface. "You aren't... afraid of me, are you?" I managed to croak out, trailing her thumb along her jaw, as I tried my utmost to keep grounded in my own human flesh.

"Absolutely not," She replied, with no hesitation, offering me another small reassuring smile.

"Good," I breathed, barely a whisper, as I closed my eyes, forcing tears from building up. "Please, remember that..." I said, as whole-heartily as humanly possible. I opened my eyes again, staring into hers more intently than ever before, as if trying to convey my message of my reasoning through some telekinetic transfer.

"Okay?" She agreed, starting to look worried. _She should be,_ the voice in my head snapped. _You are putting her in danger, _it hastily added. _You could lose control of yourself; the monster you are_. I inwardly growled at the fierce words, and shoved the thoughts away, locking the voice in the back of my mind.

"Okay." I confirmed, taking one last deep breath before I stepped back, letting her hands slip slowly from mine.

I then quickly retreated to the other side of the clearing; the furthest point from her, and let out a quick, sharp breath, before the image of a wolf popped into my mind. I instantly relaxed my mental muscles, letting the wall down, and allowing the beast its clearance. A half of a second had passed. One tremor was all it took to travel to the furthest cell of my body. I instantly bent, spinning towards one side of my body, as my flesh ripped and burned; electricity shooting through me, and my form morphed from one being to another. My spin reached one full rotation, and I landed on all four padded paws on the few centimeters of icy snow covering the floor of the clearing. A total of three seconds had passed since the instant the image of the wolf had entered my thoughts.

My eyes shot up to Aiden's and her eyes suddenly widened, jaw dropped, spine stiffened, and a low, but very audible- to my even more sensitive canine ears- gasp rushed through her teeth. The next fifteen seconds were utter torture, watching her eyes wander over me, glance around the clearing, shake her head, rub her eyes, only to look me over once more. I could only stand there, pleading with my eyes for her not to be afraid. Suddenly, her expression relaxed, and she shook her head slowly, as if questioning her own sanity. She blinked a few more times, most likely making sure that she wasn't seeing things. She then froze once more. Only, this time, her jaw lifted as she slightly smiled at me; eyes changing from shock to something unexpected- awe, even wonder.

"Chaz?" She asked, slowly, questioningly, starting to take a step towards me. I slowly nodded my large head at her question, and she froze momentarily. Her eyes got wider still as she gaped. "Chaz?" She asked, again, louder, sounding more awe-struck. Again, I nodded slowly, this time adding the tiniest, most innocent whimper that I could muster up. If possible, her jaw dropped further, as her expression lit up. Without hesitation, she walked briskly towards me, closing the distance rather quickly. She slowed only yards from me, eyes painted with wonder. "Chaz?" She asked yet again, extending her hand towards me slowly. I responded slowly, feeling as though I was walking through sand, as I tried my hardest not to frighten her. I stepped forward, closing the distance between us, and extended my neck to touch my nose to the inside of her palm, giving her another soft whimper. She simply sighed in amazement and moved closer to me, sliding her hand to the side of my face.

"Impossible," she whispered, stroking the sides of my face with her fingers as she kept her eyes locked on mine. "Can it really be you?" She asked, marveling. I gave her another soft whimper and she nodded, chuckling to herself. "This is insane..." She added, shaking her head as her eyes trailed over me once more. I slowly shook my large head and she laughed. "Impossible." She whispered again, to neither of us in particular. She then moved to the side of me, running one of her hands though my fur from my neck to my shoulder.

"I don't suppose you can talk...?" She asked hopeful. I simply gave her another small whimper and she sighed. "You're absolutely right," she said, nodding. "That would be weird- a talking wolf." She said rolling her eyes as she laughed. I barked out a low laugh at her humor and her eyes widened once more for a brief second. She simply shook her head, and continued running her hand through my fur; neck to shoulder, and back. And again, and again. My heart shuttered at the feeling of her hands trailing through my coat, and a low moan escaped my chest. I could feel blood rush to my skin, embarrassed, but I knew she couldn't see it. Aiden, however, simply laughed, moving removing her hands, instead wrapping them around my large neck, and nestling her head into my side.

"You are still so warm," she murmured, sighing. "In fact," she said, stepping back suddenly to look back at my face, "if you don't mind me saying- you are a very pretty wolf," she said, touching one finger to the end of my nose. I simply rolled my eyes, and spun in a small circle. I stopped and stretched my neck out, standing up tall as I pushed my chest out and turned my head to the side, grinning a proud smile. "Show off," she said, rolling her eyes. I barked out another laugh and she sighed, trailing her hand down the side of my face once more. "So... now what?" she asked. "You're not.. stuck like this or anything...?" She asked, worried. "Will it wear off at midnight...? Or is there some potion you have to drink to change back..? Like eating dog food, perhaps?" She asked, completely serious. "That would be rather disgusting, actually..." She added, musing to herself. I chuckled again at her strange thoughts and shook my head. I leaned forward and took the jeans in my teeth, slid them off her shoulder, and backed away into the woods.

It took me even less time to phase back, as it was my mind was already swimming with human thoughts; Aiden, Aiden, Aiden, and... of course, Aiden. I quickly picked up the jeans where I had dropped them, threw them on, and rushed back to Aiden. Surprisingly, she didn't gasp when she saw me rush back into the clearing; even at the speed I was moving. No, instead, bit her lip as her eyes, once again, wandered over my exposed skin. I laughed, shaking my head un-approvingly as I closed the space between us with two large strides.

"So, I'm guessing you don't protest to my choice of fashion?" I asked, grinning.

"I'm not going to lie," taking a second before she looked back up to my face, "I don't hate it."

"So..." I said, trying to think of what to say now... My mind was stuck as to what to do. "Still think you're seeing things?" I asked. She just bit her lip, looking over my ace for several moments before responding.

"Not... really," she said, honestly. "I mean..." she sighed, rubbing her forehead for a brief second, "Its a lot to take in..." she said, as her eyes seemed to convey, yet again, the wheels of her brain churning and cranking, trying to think of a logical explanation. "So... let me get this straight," she said slowly, looking behind me towards where the thin layer of snow was pushed to the sides, leaving the mud and grass exposed, shreds of brown material scattering the ground, "you're a... werewolf...?" She asked, looking embarrassed at her choice of words. I wanted to smile or laugh, but all I could do was nod, and wait.

"Huh," she finally said, looking slightly... impressed? _What?_ "So 'the gang' is really... a gang of werewolf-people?" She asked. I allowed myself to laugh at her choice wording and nodded again.

"More like a pack... of wolf-people, yes," I said, chuckling. "They chose to be known as 'the gang' because of its ironic meaning." I explained. "Because the wolves are actually... protectors. They- we- are kind of meant to protect people. Its what we do..." I said, trying to shy away from the specifics of what people need protecting against...

"Does it hurt?" She asked, looking worried, as she changed the subject, lightly pressing her hands against my arms, sending bolts of static energy through my nerves once again. I sighed, slightly shuttering at the feeling as I wrapped my arms around her, and I shook my head.

"You get used to it." I said, shrugging it off. After a few moments of silence she nodded, pulling away and looking back up at me.

"I believe you," she said, suddenly, shaking her head and laughing. "I don't know why," she added, "because it sounds absolutely crazy... Seems crazy, all of it... But I believe you," she said again, smiling. My heart seemed to erupt in my chest, and all of the pressure that had been building up since the day that I first saw her seemed to slide right off my back and melt into the snow. I felt elated to hear those words, relieved from my doubts before, weightless standing on the ground. _Finally_, every cell of my brain and heart seemed to breathe simultaneously, _Finally. _

**APOV**

Was I crazy? Probably. Did I care? Not at all. I was having to choose between sanity and having Chaz, the werewolf, hugging me in the middle of the woods on a snowy December day, after he almost killed a creepy old acquaintance that had tried to assault me. Except for the nauseating migraine, attempted assault, and questioning my sanity, this day couldn't get any better.

I admitted to Chaz that I had a million more questions for him, but I was afraid that my friends would come over after school. Once again, he seemed to have a brilliant solution, and asked me to trust him. So, I let him pick me up and carry me back to the house. I wasn't sure what the point of closing my eyes was, but I trusted him. Seconds later, we were in my house, and he was sitting me down in the barstool at my kitchen counter. _Oh. Right. Watching super-human speed would probably make me sick... _

As soon as he set me down he explained to me what he hoped to do. He told me that his cousin Sam was the leader, or "alpha," of their pack, and he was much better at answering my other questions. He promised I could be back before dinner, so that I wouldn't have to explain a thing to my mom, and I agreed. That wouldn't be the easiest conversation... He said he would only be a minute, and dashed out the door. I shrugged and took out a pad of paper, quickly scrawling out a note to any curious friendly intruders.

_**Hey, hey, hey,  
**__**Yes, I'm feeling better  
**__**No, I'm not home  
**__**Yes, you can hang out and wait for me  
**__**No, Chaz did not kidnap me  
**__**Yes, I'll be home before mom does  
**__**No, you shouldn't mention this to her  
**__**And yes, I have my cell in case of  
**__**some-life threatening emergency  
**__**Love, love, love  
**__**-A**_

As soon as I was done, I tacked it up on the fridge and went to find my phone. I walked out of the kitchen, to a patiently waiting Chaz. He was sitting on the steps leading upstairs, phone in hand. When he saw me, he said something low into his phone and clicked it off, before standing up, handing me my bag, and opening the door.

**CPOV**

I had called Sam ahead of time, so he knew we were coming over. What I hadn't expected, though, was how easily Aiden seemed to except everything that Sam explained to her. We had no bomb fire, and we weren't on the beach, but Aiden insisted on making hot chocolate that she made while Sam talked, sitting around the small table in his tiny kitchen. He told her a condensed version of the legends, at least a few of them, thankfully brushing over the tales of the cold ones. He explained the pack, and what we do to protect people; more than just cold ones, also pedestrians, and any other harmful situations. Aiden sat down at the table with us, never loosing interest, even enthused at the stories, adding her own questions and commentary on the more humorous aspects- to her anyway.

"Leah is one of you?" Aiden asked, wide eyed. She started at Sam for several seconds before erupting into a fit of laughter. After several moments she composed herself, still smiling. "Wow. I wouldn't have guessed..." Added. Sam explained who is changed, how it happens, and why. Thankfully, also, Aiden didn't push mention of 'the cold ones' any further. After over an hour of stories, questions and comments, all between the two of them, Aiden brought up Leah for the third time, and Sam shot a sharp look in my direction. I simply sighed and nodded my head. Sam excused himself, and moved quickly out of the room.

"Aiden..." I began, trying hard to think of what to say. All of the times that I had rehearsed this moment had suddenly vanished from my mind. All of the words, the explanations, the different envisioned reactions- gone. I stared, blank-minded into her eyes, trying to think of how to best explain these feelings... "There is something else I should probably explain..." I began, voice slightly shaking. I tried to mentally remind myself of Sam's words, of how to be strong, but it did no use.

"There are probably lots of things," she said, chuckling. "I've only been here about two hours- not nearly enough time for the two of you to explain to me this whole other world that I didn't even know existed and expect me to grasp it all and even believe it- which I do, don't get me wrong- its just that its very hard to conceive when all I've ever heard about it were myths and all I've seen are horrible cheesy movies and-" I quickly shot my hand up, and gently pressed one finger to her fast-moving lips, silencing her excruciatingly long run-on sentence, and allowing her to take a breath.

"There is another legend I should explain," I started to say, trying to remember how Sam and Jared did this. "Its called imprinting. It has to do with... the descendants finding their soul mates, basically..." I said, not finding any better words. I chucked and shook my head, apologizing to her. "This is very difficult to explain without scaring you..." To my surprise she scoffed at me.

"Because explaining the whole werewolf thing was easy?" she said, chucking. "Seriously, just spit it out already, man," she said, impatiently.

"Alright," I breathed. "Imprinting is basically when one of the pack sees their soul mate for the first time... they know."

"You believe there can only be one person for everyone?" she asked, questioningly. "Don't get me wrong, its not that I don't believe you but... If one person doesn't end up with the person they are supposed to, everything gets thrown off balance, you know? Its just hard to believe," she said, shrugging her shoulders. I nodded my head in agreement.

"I know what you mean, and I don't- didn't really think that either," I admitted, "for everyday people anyway," I added. "But, I do believe it for us- the pack."

"Love at first sight?" she asked, in a slight mocking tone. "That's one of your legends?" I smiled, but shook my head.

"Its... deeper than that. Its not just lust at first sight its... attraction," I explained, finally finding some footing for my words. "Its attraction in every possible way. Its not just physical, its emotional on every level. Its like... gravity looses their effect on them. Instead, that person holds them to earth, stronger than any physical bond could. This... pull that they feel towards this person is more immense than any other possible feeling. Its stronger than love, stronger than the rage of hate, stronger then any physical pain. They don't just feel the need to be with them, but to protect them. That is what we are designed for, to protect. So, you have to imagine that they are most protective over their imprints..." My brain wave suddenly faltered, and I shook my head, trying to remember what else I needed to explain.

"They? We? I?" She asked, suddenly, looking over my face. "Who exactly are you talking about? All of the pack or...?" She asked, trailing off, as she looked down, blush on her cheeks darkening.

I got up, taking her hand to pull her up as well and headed out the back door of Sam's house as I heard a low 'goodbye' from the other room. We walked down the drive from their house to my small one behind it as I told her about Sam, Leah and Emily- explaining the impossibility of refusing the imprinting. I explained how it wasn't just forced for no reason, it showed you what was best for you. For Sam and Emily, it was. Leah couldn't have handled the learning of the pack like Emily did, because of how badly Leah reacted when she was changed. Emily and Sam fit together perfectly, no one could question that. Of course it wasn't the easiest for anyone, but it was what was supposed to happen, and how life seems to be evening it all out now.

"Are you still wondering why I am explaining all of this to you?" I asked, as I sat next to her on the small wooden bench behind my house. She was staring straight forward into the thick woods, looking very deep in thought. At my question her faded blush faintly started to reappear, and I heard her heart start to hammer in her chest. She took a deep breath and looked over at me, questioningly.

"Is Kim Jared's imprint?" she asked me.

"Um, well yes," I said, expecting an answer rather than a question.

"I kind of figured while you were explaining it," she said, shrugging and looking back towards the woods. "They are never apart, he looks at her like she is made of pure gold- though I never saw the big obsession with gold, but it goes with my analogy- and acts suspicious when anyone even talks to her," she said, chuckling. I laughed along with her, but began to wonder if it wasn't better to just come right out and say the words. _You've said this much, how could saying those words be any more frightening?_

"Aiden," I said softly, but seriously, reaching up and turning her chin my direction lightly with one finger. "I didn't want to frighten you. I didn't want you to have to keep anything from your friends, because I saw how close they were to you... I didn't want to interrupt your life in any way," I told her, apologetically, trying hard to convey the depth of the sincerity. "But, I couldn't keep this from you any longer. It was torture trying to prolong the inevitable," I said, reaching over and taking her hands in mine, taking one last deep breath. "The first day of school, when I saw you in the hallway, your presence literally knocked me off of my feet," I said, chuckling at the memory of me falling face first into the floor. "I've spent every moment since then trying my utmost to _not_ interrupt your life, but it seems as though I can't. You are my imprint, Aiden, and I cannot imagine my life without you." My own ears were shocked as I heard the words voiced clearly, directly, and sincerely into the universe, never to be retracted again.

All that was left to do was to stare into her eyes and wait for a response, whatever it might be. Several moments passed of the same unfaltering, open expression fixed on her face, nothing changing except for the darkening of her blush, and the picking up of her heart rate.

"You don't have to accept any of this, of course," I added quickly. "If you want, you can pretend this day never happened, Alex, the legends, everything. I don't want to make you feel like you have to accept me because of what I am. If you so tell me to, I won't directly bother you with anything having to do with my imprinting. I can't help this, but I could still try to leave you alone... to let you... choose your own fate..." I barely choked out, trying hard to mean what I was saying as the imprinted wolf inside of me mentally growled so loudly my brainwaves slightly faltered.

Suddenly the blank expression she had been wearing broke with her sweet laughter. _Silly me, expecting a predictable reaction_, I thought.

"Chaz," she said, looking at me incredulously, and shaking her head. "How could you possibly think that all of this could be dismissible in any way? You honestly think it could be that I have no significant attachment to you?" Caught off guard, I shook my head but she continued. "You just told me not too long ago you have super-human senses. Do you not hear my heartbeat? See my blushing?" She asked, laughing to herself. "You know, you don't know how much sense this all makes."

"Sense?" I blurted out. "What sense could this possibly make?" I asked, bewildered.

"I feel it," she said, taking one of her hands out of mine, "maybe not as strong as you but... this pull, this electricity," she said, pressing the back of her hand against my face. Electricity jumped at he touch, and I heard hear heart jump as well. I pulled her hand away, back into mine and nodded.

This was exactly what I'd hoped. I had seen these things, thought these things, but figured it was my imprinted thoughts getting ahead of me. The realization of confirmation leapt in my mind, made my heart spin my stomach drum and my head leap. Or maybe I had them mixed up. What did it really matter though? She knew. She was sitting with me, the real me, and she knew. She knew everything, the good the bad and the ugly, and yet she was still here. The technicalities of whether it was fully by choice are fuzzy, but what does it really matter? It may not have been my choice if I hadn't been changed, and I may not have ended up here with this amazing girl- but how could I possible choose otherwise? I would miss out on the best thing in my life.

Just when I thought of changing the subject for a while, Aiden suddenly gasped, leaping up from the bench, pulling hands from mine as she did so. I was on my feet before her sudden intake of air was even complete.

"Whatwhat? What is it?" I said, almost reflexively. Her shocked face changed for a second as she laughed heartily, gently pushing me back onto the bench, commenting on 'just because she knew, I suddenly stopped tying to hide anything.'

"I gasped," she stared to say, adding under her voice how I ruined her 'aha' moment, "because I figured something out. All on my own, too," she said, proudly. "At least... I think I'm right... Am I right?" she asked, suddenly unsure.

"Aid," I said, smirking, "you sort of need to tell me what it is before I can agree or disagree."

"Leah... and Rob...?" She asked. "Did he imprint on her...? I mean is that possible?"

"Actually, its not solely the man's doing," I said, chuckling. "And, a pack has never had a female member before, so of course there hasn't been a case of a female imprinting... until now."

"I knew it!" She said, happily. "Seriously? Oh, that is so great for her! So, Leah's side of the story has a happy ending, too." She said, genuinely excited for them. "Wait," she added suddenly, giving me a suspicious look, "does Rob know?" I shook my head "Oh... good," she said, smiling again.

"Good?" I asked, quirking my brow.

"Yes, good," she repeated herself. "I would have been very unhappy to find out he knew before me." I laughed at her reasoning, and reached out to take her hands as I stood up again.

"I'm guessing its about five, I should probably get you home for dinner, right?" Aiden bit her lip, looking less than pleased as she nodded slowly. All of a sudden her eyes brightened, an she smiled wide.

"Yes," she said, nodding, "we should go."

"No offence, but your sudden enthusiasm slightly confuses me..."

"You're staying for dinner, of course," she stated, matter-of-factly.

"Oh," I said, nodding. "Alright."

"...with my mother..."

"Oh." I said, thinking about how that would play out... "Um..."

"Come on," she said, starting to walk back towards Sam and Emily's house, tugging at my hand with no result, "it will be a blast," she said, sarcastically. I finally ceased her aggravation by allowing her to tug me along. In three steps we were out from behind the house, in clear shot of Sam's house, and my car, when I remembered I didn't have to conceal it anymore. I quickly scooped her up, and sped to the car. We were both in the car, and buckled in seconds, easily. When Aiden finally regained her voice, we were on the road, 'headed back for dinner.'

"You realize you are not allowed to do that in front of my mother," she said, seriously. I laughed, shaking my head.

"But in front of you all I want," I said, elated at my own words. She sighed dramatically and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess," she said, before breaking out into a grin. "All you want."


	43. Stuck With Me

**(A/N) My excuses of a busy life are lame, I know.  
****Still, I apologize for denying you your recommended dose of these lovely characters.  
We'll catch up to the rest of them soon enough, don't worry.  
For now, I hope that you enjoy the new chapter.  
I love you all for not giving up on me.  
Love infinitely,  
-andixcore**

**Chap 40**

**"Stuck With Me"**

**Friday, December 12**

APOV

The only way I could describe my mind was something along the lines of 'a hazy mess of stories, information and strange emotions.' All of this information to process, all of these concepts to grasp. Chaz was a mythical creature that you read about in creepy novels and made appearances in horror movies? Only, he protected people instead of eating them? Morphing from man to wolf and protecting our town from evil was his after school job? Tribal descendants get this 'gift?' Along with that 'gift' they have ability to find their 'soul mate' by way of when they look at them, they simply know?

All of this and more was trying to rationalize itself. It sounded crazy, I know it did. The rational side of myself was trying to grasp the reality in all of these impossibilities. On the other hand, how sane was I to begin with, really? I mentally chuckled in spite of myself as Chaz returned; we were once again on the road in mere seconds.

"You really shouldn't do that to your car," I commented, shaking my head. He simply shrugged, pushing the gas pedal down slightly further.

"Trying to make up for lost time," he said, staring at the road as if challenging the car to try and make up his mistake for him.

"Its not your car's fault you forgot to put clothes on before we left." He rolled his eyes, but soon after nodded and allowed the speedometer to fall slightly.

The buzzing in my head was slowing down moment by moment, which I was very thankful for. I was surprised that I didn't feel the usual ache in my chest; the pressure that I felt when stress seemed to overload itself, or my head was too full to process information. The ache that shattered and melted in the snow of the clearing had not returned in the slightest. Of course, I could rationalize it that if my head was in no state to process the information, neither were my emotions; it just hadn't caught up to me yet. But, of course, I knew that wasn't the case. Deep down, as mentally unstable as the whole thing sounded, and seemed, I knew it was true, every last word of it.

"Aid?" My head snapped away from its fix on the windshield. I jumped at the unexpected sight of Chaz standing next to me, arm stretched across the top of my door, chuckling at me. "You have the most intense zoning skills I have ever witnessed," he said, running his other hand through his hair as he shook his head at my expense.

"What can I say, I'm gifted," I blurted out, trying to ignore the tribal drumming of my heart as I undid my seatbelt and moved to step out of the car.

"Did I really startle you that badly?" Chaz asked, taking my hand to help me down. I felt a familiar charge of electricity at the touch.

"Don't worry about it," I said, trying to smile as I evasively avoided lying, and telling the truth at the same time. While he did startle me, of course that wasn't the reason my hart was still hammering in my chest. You would think this pure emotion would have died down now that I knew. Now that I had heard the words out loud, that I knew and that I understood. You would think. Obviously my heart wasn't ready to die down anytime soon.

"Your TV is on," Chas said, freezing a pace before the porch steps, and cocking his head ever so slightly. I wanted to laugh. Right then, right there, just outright laugh at him. He reminded me of a puppy, when one of their ears pop up to something unfamiliar.

"Its probably just Nick'o," I said, moving to take another step, when I realized his arm was already around my waist, holding me in place. I suddenly felt his arm around me, as the drums began again.

"Sorry," he said, face still simultaneously serious and serene. "Reflex," he said, as his arm slipped out from around me.

I lied. There was pressure. Heavy anvils of pressure on my chest. It wasn't the same as before though. It was freer; probably because it now knew the truth and had the right to be free. This, in turn, made it stronger. It knew that it was right; I was beside him, but I wanted to be closer. It was right; he cared about me immensely, and it longed for him because of it. It was cocky. And loved to turn my mental and emotional torture into a physical realization. Yay.

I followed him up the steps, and he swiftly and silently opened the door, stepping inside. I quickly peeked around him, seeing Rob and Nicolai on my couch, lying on each other's shoulders. Chaz and I both snickered as he swiftly flicked the door shut. The door clattered shut loudly, making both Rob and Nicolai jump clear off the couch.

"Aaaahh!!" They screeched.

"Hello," Chaz said, evenly, obviously trying to conceal his laughter.

"For a big guy, you're mighty quiet," Nicolai said, shaking his head in exasperation.

"Oh? Did we startle you?" I asked, sarcastically. "We didn't mean to interrupt you _moment_." I said, referring to their prior coziness as I tossed off my shoes, jacket and bag.

"Your house is... um... cold," Rob quickly replied, mocking embarrassment.

"And Nicolai is hot?" I joked, sliding into the recliner in the corner.

"Not as hot as Leah," Nicolai quickly blurted out, winking at rob, as he elbowed him. Rob's jow opened slightly as he flushed all shades of red. He tried to laugh, but it sounded more like a cough.

"I've a... got to... um..." Rob looked around, trying to remember his train of thought, as he rubbed his forehead with two fingers, "..yeah, bathroom..." he finally appeared to think of an excuse, and walked briskly through the entryway of the kitchen and around the corner. Nicolai rolled his eyes and shrugged, he started after him when his cell phone buzzed in his pocket. After a few second conversation, a quick explanation and some apologies, Nicolai hurried out the door so he wouldn't be late for dinner with his family.

"So, when do you think that Leah will... you know..?" I whispered, hoping that Rob was far enough away not to hear me. Chaz scoffed, settling himself on the sofa.

"I'm still trying to grasp the fact that I did..." He said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, yeah," I said, waving it away as if it were old news. "But seriously, I know they don't know each other very well yet, but look at what its doing to poor Robby," I said, feeling bad for his torture because I knew that I understood. Too bad that he couldn't know that I understood...

"Yeah, yeah?" Chaz asked, confused. "You say that as if its no big deal-" he quickly peered around the corner, looking and listening for Rob. He must have heard him because he quickly continued in a hushed voice, "As if its no big deal that I just told you that you're the soul-mate of a werewolf," he said, enunciating every syllable as if it would suddenly make me understand, that I would suddenly have a panic attack and freak out. The words had been running through my head, but at the sound of them off his tongue my heart went into a frenzy once again. "So, it does scare you, doesn't it...?" Chaz said, almost under his breath as a pained look shot across his eyes. It took me a minute to understand what he was talking about.

"Seriously? Have you always had hearing like that?" I asked, slightly annoyed, and impressed all at once. He gave me a confused glance and I just shook my head. "You're listening to my heartbeat, aren't you?" I asked, apathetically.

"Maybe..." He admitted, looking guilty. "In my defense, I can't help it," he added.

"Its only annoying because you obviously have a horrible impression of yourself to misinterpret things so badly," I said, sighing.

"So, you're not scared?" He asked, confused.

"Trust me," I said, looking him in the eyes intently, "its not because of fear," I said. I got up and took a step over so that I was in front of him on the couch. I lifted my hand to the side of his face and, reenacting my moment with the beautiful wolf earlier, ran my hand through his hair, over his neck and placed it on his shoulder. All the while my heart was pounding fast, uneven beats. "Not fear.. Never with you." The new pressure on my chest eased in that moment. My hand slid off his shoulder and I turned to walk toward the kitchen. In that instant the pressure seemed to try and overtake me with a vengeance, pulling me back around. I felt as though sand was steadily being added to my shoulders with each step I took in the opposite direction. I took a deep breath, mentally cursing the feeling.

I instantly noticed Rob was sitting at the small corner table, arms folded and head buried in them.

"Hey," I said quietly, sliding into the chair next to him.

"Hey," I heard him mutter from under his arms.

"Oh come on now," I said, reaching over and pulling one of his arms out from around his face. "Sit up, you really do look like a sad sight," I said, frowning.

"Sorry," he muttered, propping himself up on one elbow and sighing. "I just... I don't know what's gotten into me... I can't... I can't..." he sighed again, looking down at the table.

"Can't what?"

"This sounds so lame," he said, giving me a grim smile. "Considering that I've met her twice... This sounds so lame," he repeated, shaking his head. "I can't... I can't stop thinking about Leah," he said, embarrassed.

"That does not sound lame," I said, giving him a playful shove. "Do I need to bust out the speech again about how you're not shy, and she acts like she's into you, blah, blah, blah?" I asked.

"No, I know what you said before but... I'm so attracted to her its unreal. And that sounds... Well, not the way its meant. Her as a person, her in general, her name even!" He said, bewildered. "I feel creepy for feeling this way; I hardly know her!" He shook his head.

"I don't care that she's older than me," he said, honestly. "That doesn't bother me at all. It's just that I can't explain this, Aiden, I really can't. And how idiotic would I feel if she were to hear me talking like this, or to realize how immense my attraction is for her? She would- ...Well, I don't know what she would do. I feel ridiculous. Do you think I'm ridiculous?" He asked me. "No, wait, don't answer that," he said quickly, shaking his head sadly. He paused for a few moments thinking before he continued.

"You can't possibly realize what I mean by attraction to her. I feel the need to be with her- just to see her- all the time. Not just sometimes, or when I'm thinking about her- which, by the way, is most of the time. How creepy do I sound?? Even right now." He said, casting his eyes down at the wooden tabletop in the most pitiful way. "This very second, I feel like I'm missing her. How can you miss someone you don't even know? I sound completely nuts, don't I, Aid?" He asked, quietly; sadly.

My heart seemed to turn in my chest, as my sympathy for him escalated. Even though he did sound crazy, I understood. I'd had those very same thoughts, asked myself those very same questions. If only he could understand... I knew that I could not tell him. But if he happened to guess that our situations related, that could not be held against me, right...?

"No," I said simply, putting my hand on his and shaking my head. "That sounds about right," I said, nodding my head. He gave me a look as if to question the sanity of my being for actually agreeing with his madman rant. I simply smiled at his confusion and nudged my head in the direction of the living room. "That sounds about right," I said again, giving him a quick wink, as I stood up and returned to the living room.

I barely stepped through the doorway when I was pulled aside, out of sight of the kitchen. Chaz was holding my arms loosely, looking at me with an expression as though he had been greatly hurt.

"Is that true," he whispered, his pained voice matching his expression. I gave him a confused look and started to speak, when he shook his head and repeated his question. "Is that true? How Rob feels... Is that how you felt?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper. I suddenly understood his realization of how much I felt for him. It wasn't just what Rob had said, but the way he said it; the connection his words and feelings had. Chaz thought he was doing me good by not telling me, but he was the cause of all of my emotional confusion, worry and turmoil. I nodded slowly, watching his remorse increase.

"I'm sorry..." he said so low, I could barely hear him. "I didn't know that you... I'm so sorry," he said, pulling me into him and wrapping his arms around me, sighing heavily.

The pressure in my chest exploded, vaporizing itself into weightless clouds. Clouds attached by tiny cables to my heartstrings; pulling me, lifting me higher. I was weightless on the ground... Remembering that I needed to inhale oxygen brought me back to earth momentarily. I tried to find my train of thought.

Sure, my emotional turmoil had been his fault, but he didn't ask for this imprintation either. He didn't know better. He shouldn't feel bad for something he didn't purposely do. If anything I don't want him to feel bad! Seeing his tormented expression brought an ache to my heart that was stronger than one I had ever felt for myself.... I felt Chaz rest head on top of my own, and the firework of emotions exploded again. What was he saying? I tried to remember. Didn't I have a thought...?

"Look at the bright side," I said softly. He pulled away to look at my expression, with a look that seemed to doubt there was a bright side. "You're officially stuck with me, and it won't ever happen again," I said, grinning. Instantly, Chaz barked out a hearty laugh, and quickly tried to stifle it. Apparently my humor had caught him off guard. He chuckled and shook his head at me again.

"Oh Aid," he said, still chuckling, "you are so unpredictable," he said, wrapping his arms around me and giving me a short hug, before quickly pecking my forehead.

"I try," I managed to say, shrugging, as the electricity of emotions was ever-pulsing through my veins.

The phone rang, and I rushed to get it. My mom told me that she had a 'Friday meeting,' which meant doing dinner, the movies, and whatever else with her work friends. She also brought up again the deals that her company was making and the possibility of transferring locations. Irritated, I explained to her that now was not the time, but I don't think she caught the seriousness in my voice. She sweetly reassured me that it would be ok no matter what, but that she wanted me to keep an open mind. I nodded into the phone apathetically before hanging up, sighing. Chaz must not have heard what my mom said about her company, and tried to get my to be optimistic about not meeting my mother tonight, saying that he probably needed practice lying about things first. I laughed, thankful for his humor, and agreed with him.

When Rob finally came back from his kitchen pity-party, he was giving me a Chaz a slightly strange analytical look. He quickly mentioned that he should probably head out. Rob wasn't out the door five seconds when Chaz suddenly lit up, a look of utter realization on his face. He briefly excused himself before spontaneously darting out of the room in a burst of warm air.

I instinctively jumped at the unexpected disappearance of Chaz, wondering what in the world he was up to. Suddenly confused, I sat down right where I was standing, in the middle of my living room and sighed; half due to the amazement of how fast he truly was, half due to the realization that I was probably in for a lifetime of these kinds of situations. Suddenly, the widest of smiles burst across my face just then. I thought about how my future had always seemed so bleak, so confusing, like a humungous masked evil casting a shadow on every decision that I made. It was now as if someone had destroyed the shadow; had replaced my intimidation with certainty.

I closed my eyes, tears starting to well up under my lids as everything that had transpired today, finally came crashing down around me. The amazing thing is that it didn't matter. As insane as everything was, I knew that it was this way for a reason. I knew that life had it's way of working out. And I knew that even though the thought was impossible to grasp, Chaz was here to protect me. For some unexplainable reason, I knew it was true. And I knew it always would be...


	44. Everyone is Witty and Nothing Hurts

**A/N**

**It's been 2+ years since I updated. I think I'm giving up on the pipe dream that I will actually ever revise and update this story. Alright, that was a lie. I may take is down eventually, revise and re-upload (but only because I love my silly characters so much... especially Ander and Nicolai) and I recognize the fact that it needs a lot of work before I can properly finish it off. Every time I try and read through it with the intention of revising a little, I get overwhelmed at the things which need fixing, and tack on another rain check.**

**Since I've gotten so much love for this story, I feel obligated to inform you that the "completed" status of this story is kind of a big fat lie. I have about a year or so of material written (albeit, roughly) for this story. That same writing folder also includes drabbles of Laine and Nicolai, Ander's observations and speculations of the "gang" facade, and quite a bit of Rob and Leah storyline. **

**Perhaps you'll wander back to my page in a few months [or years] and there will be a little surprise for you. Perhaps this is a promissory note that you'll see more of these silly characters again. Or, perhaps, this note was closure [as if you were sitting on the edge of your seat, waiting for this random AU Twilight fanfiction to update] that the characters are living on [in my head] in their silly little world- a world where they are all sarcastic, and witty, and no one suspects the mysterious, and everyone acts like family, and nothing hurts. **

**Forever my love, **  
**andixcore **


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